ADVERTISING  BY 
MOTION  PICTURES 


Wf\%' 


ERNEST  A. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/d6tails/advertisingmotion00dencrich 


Advertising  by  Motion 
Pictures 

BY 

ERNEST  A.  DENCH 


Author  of  " Playwriting  for  the  Cinema," "Making 

the  Movies."  Former  Vice-president  Photoplau 

Authors'  League,  and  Editor  of  the  Late 

"Photoplau  Writer" 


CIN  CI  fS  N  ATI 

THE  STANDARD  PUBUSHING  COMPANY 


Copyright,  1916 
The  Standard   Publishing   Company 


A^Z%^^ 


CONTENTS 


I    Telling  Your  Advertising  Story  by  Motion 

Pictures   it 

II    Movie  Advertising  from  the  Viewpoint  of 

a  Fan i8 

III  The  Dollars  and  Cents  of  Advertising  by 

Motion  Pictures 23 

IV  Some  Film  Advertising  Methods  for  the 

Manufacturer   30 

V    Slide  and  Film  Advertising  Contrasted. . .     33 

VI   Using  the  Film  to  Secure  Foreign  Busi- 
ness       41 

VII    Approaching  the  Working  Classes  with  a 

Motion-picture   Play 46 

VIII   Reaching  the  Public  by  Motion  Pictures . .     5^ 

IX    Introducing  Advertising  into  Motion-pic- 
ture   Newspapers 59 

X    Employing  Motion  Pictures  to  Appeal  to 

the  Children 64 

XI    Salesmanship  Demonstrations  by  the  Film    71 

XII    Equipping  a  Private  Motion-picture  Thea- 
ter for  Business  Purposes 74 

XIII   Introducing  Competitions  in  Ad.  Motion 

Pictures    79 


869855 


Contents 


FAGB 

XIV   Bringing  Out  the  Individuality  of  Dry 

Goods  by  Motion  Pictures 85 

XV   Boosting  Cities  and  Pleasure  Resorts 

by  Motion  Pictures 92 

XVI  Advertising  Railroads  by  the  Movies. .    98 

XVII   Getting  Over  the   Pureness  of  Your 

Food  Products  by  the  Film 105 

XVIII  Selling  Automobiles  and  Accessories 

by  Motion  Pictures 113 

XIX   Clinching  Agricultural  Machinery  Sales 

by  Motion  Pictures 120 

XX  How  Publishers  Can  Capture  Business 
from  the  Ever-encroaching  Film 
Producer   126 

XXI   Advertising  Your  Newspaper  with  a 

Motion  Picture 131 

XXII   Selling  Shoes  by  Motion  Pictures 136 

XXIII  Film  Advertising  from  the  Photoplay- 

er's  Viewpoint 140 

XXIV  Advertising  Film  Circulation 146 

XXV    Covering  the  Motion-picture  Field  by 

Magazines  152 

XXVI   Future   Developments   of  Advertising 

by  Motion  Pictures 156 

XXVII   Boosting  Your  Trade  with  a  Popular 

Player 163 

XXVIII   Boosting  Your  Business  with  an  Ad- 
vertising Motion  Picture 169 

4 


Contents 


PAGE 

XXIX   Pulling  Movie-slide  Advertising  Out 

of  the  Rut 173 

XXX    Maintaining  the  Interest  in  Slide  Ad- 
vertising    178 

XXXI    Individuality  in  Slide  Advertising. . .   183 

XXXIl   The  Personal  Element  in  Slide  Ad- 
vertising     188 

XXXIII  Are  Your  Slides  Truthful? 191 

XXXIV  Obtaining    the    Best    Results    From 

Slide  Advertising 194 

XXXV   Selecting  the  Theater  for  Your  Ad. 

Slide 199 

XXXVI   Handling  the  Anti-ad.  Slide  Exhibitor  203 

XXXVII    Having  Your  Movie  Ad.  Slides  Shown 

to  the  Best  Advantage 207 

XXXVIII   The  Ideal  Slide  Follow-up  Medium. .  211 

XXXIX   Attracting  Farmers  to  Town 215 

XL   Capitalizing  Popular  Screen  Players 

in  Slide  Advertising 217 

XLI   Attracting    Trade    with    Photoplay 

Stars  221 

XLII  Taking  Advantage  of  Errors  in  Pho- 
'  toplays   226 

XLIII  How  the  Book  Dealer  Can  Take  Ad- 
vantage of  the  Movie  Adaptation 
Mania   230 

XLIV   Selling  Real  Estate  by  the  Film 233 

5 


Contents 


PAGE 

XLV   Advertising  Your  Department  Store  by 

Motion  Pictures 238 

XL VI   Hitching  Motion  Pictures  to  Musical 

Advertising  243 

XLVII   Developing  "Have  a   Garden"  Move- 
ment with  Photoplay  Theater  Help.  248 

XLVIII   Naming  Soda-fountain  Concoctions 

After  Movies 252 


INTRODUCTION 

I  am,  in  the  first  place,  one  of  the  few 
journalists  to  specialize  on  Motion  Pic- 
tures. This  enables  me  to  concentrate  on 
one  subject  instead  of  running  the  risk 
of  making  a  regular  hash  of  everything 
under  the  sun.  I  would  not,  naturally, 
have  chosen  to  follow  this  path  were  not 
the  theme  the  very  versatile  one  it  is. 
So  you  can  imagine  that  I  am  always  on 
the  alert  for  new-idea  germs  for  articles. 

While  searching  for  these  I  ran  up 
against  the  advertising  field.  I  was  well 
aware  that  the  motion  picture  had  broken 
into  the  publicity  game  with  success,  but 
a  good  deal  of  investigating  convinced 
me  that  the  reason  this  new  publicity 
medium  had  failed  to  gain  a  wide  follow- 
ing was  because  there  was  so  little  defi- 
nite information  about  it  obtainable.    ' 


Introduction 


. , .  . .  Nx3  advertiser,  I   fully  knew,  would 
'Coiisider  a  pig  in  the  poke  proposition,  so 

:  Ut :  occurred  to  me  that  here  was  my 
chance  to  remedy  the  defect.  What  in- 
formation there  was  to  be  had  on  the 
subject  was  scattered  between  the  pages 
of  various  business  publications  in  occa- 
sional articles,  which  fact  set  me  to  work 
to  write  a  concise  handbook,  embodying 
everything  worth  knowing  about  Motion 
Picture  Advertising. 

It  will  probably  seem  rather  strange 
to  you  that  an  invention  like  the  cinema- 
tograph, which  has  achieved  widespread 
fame  as  a  form  of  entertainment,  can 
perform  the  functions  of  advertising,  but 
it  is  none  the  less  a  fact.  Wonders  have 
not  yet  ceased  in  this  every-day  world, 
believe  me. 

It  also  IS  not,  I  am  glad  to  say,  a 
medium  confined  to  any  one  business  or 
profession.  It  is,  in  fact,  equally  adapt- 
able to  the  large  manufacturer  as  it  is 

8 


Introduction 


to    the    smallest    dealer    in    any    trade. 

Some  advertisers  may  view  a  new 
form  of  publicity  in  the  light  that  it 
necessitates  a  greater  outlay  without  ac- 
complishing more  than  the  old  established 
ad  mediums.  This,  however,  is  not  true 
of  the  motion  picture,  for  it  possesses 
business-pulling  properties  distinctly  its 
own.  The  extra  expense  is  more  than 
recovered  by  the  increased  trade  it  de- 
velops. 

It  is,  furthermore,  an  advertising 
medium  no  modern  business  man  can  af- 
ford to  gloss  over,  so  this  little  book  is 
entitled  to  his  most  careful  consideration. 
Ernest  A.  Dench. 


TELLING    YOUR    ADVERTISING    STORY 
BY  MOTION  PICTURES 

In  spite  of  the  versatility  of  the  in- 
trepid motion  picture  as  an  advertising 
medium,  it  has  its  hmitations.  This, 
after  all,  is  but  natural,  for  all  forms  of 
publicity  are  supposed  to  be  links  in  the 
chain,  and  not  one  is  strong  enough  to 
take  the  place  of  the  whole. 

It  is  clearly  obvious,  of  course,  that 
when  adopting  motion-picture  advertising, 
everything  has  to  be  visualized  by  means 
of  animated  photographs,  so,  therefore, 
the  appeal  is  presented  through  the  eye. 
As  for  the  printed  work,  this  takes  a 
back  seat. 

Since  everything  is  intended  to  be  ab- 
sorbed by  the  eye,  a  whole  mass  of  ex- 
planatory matter  tagged  on  to  the  film 
11 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

would  rather  hinder  the  ad.  instead  of 
adding  further  enlightenment  as  intended. 
And  the  short  time  a  sentence  remains  on 
the  screen  does  not  allow  lengthy  state- 
ments to  sink  in.  Subtitles  are  weak  de- 
vices to  help  a  photo-play  story  over  stum- 
bling-blocks, and  the  less  and  shorter  they 
are,  the  better  the  picture  will  be.  There 
are  plenty  of  other  mediums  in  which 
to  display  how  well  you  can  weave  words, 
so  why  drag  them  into  a  place  where 
they  do  not  fit? 

Besides,  it  is  what  the  spectator  sees, 
not  reads,  that  leaves  the  lasting  im- 
pression, which  is  the  paramount  point  to 
be  reached  in  advertising  by  motion  pic- 
tures. 

And  there  is  another  important  matter 
to  be  weighed  and  considered.  If  you 
overload  your  film  with  titles,  you  will  be- 
fogf  a  good  number  of  foreigners  who 
have  not  been  long  enough  in  our  country 
to  master  the  English  language,  so  that 

12 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

their  probable  patronage  is  lost  just  be- 
cause the  international  language  of  the 
film  has  been  abused. 

There  has  already  arisen  a  select  few 
writers  who  have  made  a  specialty  of 
combining  advertising  with  motion  pic- 
tures and  laying  out  campaigns  for  their 
clients  to  the  best  possible  advantage. 

Motion-picture  advertising,  as  a  direct- 
appeal  proposition,  is  ineffective.  You 
may,  for  instance,  have  to  get  out  a  cat- 
alogue in  order  to  list  the  goods  you  make, 
and  you  may  also  plan  to  get  this  over  on 
the  screen  by  filming  each  article  as  you 
would  if  you  had  a  still  photograph  taken 
and  precede  each  with  an  insert,  giving 
prices  and  other  particulars  of  same. 
Apart  from  the  fact  that  the  film  would 
be  voted  deadly  dull  by  audiences,  it 
would  also  fall  flat  as  a  business  bringer. 
You  simply  can't  do  without  advertising 
literature,  for  the  motion  picture  ends  at 
getting  interested,  and  the  old  stand-bys 

13 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

must  clinch  the  deal  at  the  right  time. 

Where  the  film  excels  is  that  your  ad. 
comes  on  the  screen  without  competing 
with  any  others  for  attention,  and  al- 
though the  spectator  may  not  respond 
easily  to  press  advertising,  he  feels  he  has 
to  view  the  picture  because  he  can  not 
"turn  over  a  page,"  or,  in  other  words, 
there  is  nothing  else  interesting  for  him  to 
turn  his  attention  to.  He  will,  if  ap- 
proached, admit  that  the  motion  picture  is 
the  most  entertaining  publicity  channel 
yet.  You  also  reach  him  at  his  leisure, 
and,  therefore,  approach  him  in  the  right 
mood. 

Get  it  out  of  your  head  right  now  that 
anything  in  the  nature  of  an  ad.  film  will 
produce  the  results  you  strive  for ;  believe 
me,  the  movie  fan  (there  are  twenty 
million  of  them  in  this  country)  is  a 
most  fastidious  individual,  for  which 
the  improvements  reached  in  photoplays 
may   be   held    responsible.      You   would 

14 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

not  expect  a  formal  business  notice  to 
do  any  good  nowadays,  would  you? 
Then,  the  same  holds  good  of  film  ad- 
vertising. 

You  can't  merely  state  on  a  film  that 
Bondin,  the  famous  actor,  derives  great 
enjoyment  out  of  your  preparation — it's 
too  crude.  But  you  can  film  an  interview 
with  your  worthy  customer  and  introduce 
some  home-life  scenes,  not  to  forget  his 
testimonial  of  your  goods  visualized.  This 
would  produce  an  exquisite  blend  of 
entertainment  and  advertising. 

All  in  all,  it  is  action  by  which  you  have 
to  tell  your  story.  You  have,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  to  regard  your  proposition  from 
the  angle  of  the  man  from  Missouri.  You 
can  take  the  public  behind  the  scenes  of 
your  works  and  convince  them  that  the 
goods  are  produced  under  the  best  of  con- 
ditions. The  picture  is  likewise  given  an 
educational  touch  because  an  industry  is 
being  unfolded  at  the  same  time.     Then, 

15 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

if  you  want  to  bring  out  the  important 
selling  points,  you  engage  a  writer  to  in- 
corporate them  into  a  comedy  or  dramatic 
photo-play.  And  so  I  could  go  on  giving 
examples  of  introducing  life  into  the  ad 
story.  Action  is  the  life  and  soul  of  the 
film  industry. 

Bear  in  mind,  too,  that  it  is  the  quality 
that  tells,  not  quantity.  I  have  seen  ef- 
forts along  these  lines  that  contained 
material  for  a  half -reel  subject,  yet  they 
were  unduly  extended  to  two  reels,  boring 
an  audience  for  forty  minutes  instead  of 
entertaining  them  for  ten  minutes.  Pic- 
ture-goers are  quick  to  resent  padding, 
and  your  film  may  defeat  its  purpose.  A 
good  way  to  detect  this  beforehand  is  to 
arrange  for  its  projection  and  try  to  place 
yourself  in  the  position  of  the  average 
movie  fan. 

This  padding  is  often  done  by  the 
smaller  fry  so  as  to  make  as  much  as 
possible  over  the  deal.     But  if  the  ad- 

16 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

vertiser  places  himself  in  the  hands  of 
a  reliable  industrial  film  concern,  he 
may  rest  assured  of  them  not  taking 
undue  advantage  by  charging  for  a  -lot 
of  superfluous  footage. 


17 


II. 

MOVIE  ADVERTISING  FROM  THE  VIEW- 
POINT  OF  A  FAN 

You  may  hardly  credit  it  when  I  as- 
sert that  motion-picture  audiences  are  the 
most  critical  in  the  world.  They  do  not 
outwardly  show  their  disapproval  of 
things,  but  after  they  resolved  that  the 
photoplay  was  here  to  stay,  anything  as 
a  motion  picture  would  no  longer  satisfy 
them.  So  the  film  producers  had  to 
humor  the  folks  who  had  made  their 
wealth,  and  to-day  the  fans  have  been 
educated  up  to  such  a  pitch  that  nothing 
but  the  best  will  satisfy  them.  Here, 
then,  is  the  class  of  readers  represented 
by  moving-picture  publicity. 

The  obvious  conclusion  is  that  adver- 
tisers will  have  to  follow  in  the  path  of 
the  ordinary  producer  in  order  to  obtain 

18 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

the  greatest  value  out  of  this  new  adver- 
tising medium. 

A  talk  with  an  intelligent  motion-pic- 
ture fan,  as  I  found,  is  very  interesting. 
"I  would  like  your  views  on  ad.  films,"  I 
asked. 

'With  pleasure,"  she  replied,  and 
forthwith  got  down  to  business. 

"I  must  say  that  they  are  considerably 
more  interesting  than  the  advertisements 
that  meet  your  eye  in  the  newspapers. 
How  nice  it  is  to  watch  an  industry  on 
the  screen  and  be  taken  through  a  big 
manufacturing  plant.  It  is  an  education 
in  itself,  and  it  never  strikes  you  as 
though  it  was  intended  as  a  boost,  al- 
though the  particular  thing — the  point 
the  advertiser  wishes  to  bring  home,  I 
believe  you  call  it — leaves  an  indelible 
impression  on  you. 

"I  also  enjoy  the  films  in  which  there 
is  a  story.  One  such  film,  I  remember, 
told  of  a  poor  family  who  took  in  wash- 

19 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

ing.  Disease  abounded,  and  the  folks 
who  had  their  laundry  done  learned  their 
lesson.  Then  the  sanitary  methods  of 
the  steam  laundry  were  contrasted.  It 
impressed  me  very  much. 

"The  comic  films  are  frequently 
laughable,  but  I  remember  being  offended 
once  at  seeing  a  man  like  somebody's  beer 
so  much  that  he  drank  it  until  he  was 
dead  drunk.  I  noticed  that  I  was  not  the 
only  spectator  to  leave  the  hall.  I  like, 
at  all  times,  my  photoplay  fare  to  be  in 
good  taste. 

"At  some  of  the  movie  theaters  I  at- 
tend they  make  a  practice  of  running  a 
number  of  slides  after  the  reels.  They 
relate  to  neighboring  stores,  but  are  so 
dry  and  shown  for  so  many  weeks  with- 
out being  changed  that  I  always  skip 
them." 

"Would  you  prefer,"  I  chimed  in, 
"that  the  advertising  film  portion  be 
abolished?" 

20 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

"I  would  not  so  long  as  the  ordinary 
pictures  did  not  suffer  in  quality  and 
quantity.  A  show  I  regularly  visit  out 
in  New  Jersey  always  runs  the  ad.  films 
after  the  program  has  finished.  As  the 
pictures  are  invariably  good  ones,  I  al- 
ways stay  to  see  them  through,  and  most 
others  in  the  audience  seem  to  do  like- 
wise. And  another  thing,  the  subjects 
are  frequently  changed,  for  naturally 
one  grows  tired  of  seeing  the  same  things 
over  and  over  again." 

''Have  you,"  I  broached,  "any  sug- 
gestions for  improvements?" 

"Sure;  I  would  like  to  see  some  of 
my  favorite  photoplayers  take  the  lead- 
ing parts  in  the  ad.  stories.  It  would  be 
just  crazy  to  watch  Mary  Fuller  and 
Francis  X.  Bushman  as  a  pair  of  newly 
weds  who  try  to  overcome  housekeeping 
difficulties  with  various  modern  articles 
to  be  bought  at  stores. 

"I  also  think  that  there  is  consider- 

21 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

able  room  for  improving  the  film  plots. 
They  should  be  as  good  as  the  ordinary 
photoplays.  What  they  seem  to  lack  is 
strength.  There  is  seldom  any  of  the 
strong,  exciting  situations  which  I  am 
accustomed  to  see,  and  the  punch  is  often 
conspicuous  by  its  absence  at  the  end." 


£2 


III. 

THE  DOLLARS  AND   CENTS   OF   ADVER- 
TISING  BY  MOTION  PICTURES 

So  far  as  I  am  aware,  the  cost  as- 
pects of  advertising  by  motion  pictures 
have  not  been  dealt  with  in  print  before. 
This  may  explain  why  so  many  adver- 
tisers, national  or  otherwise,  have  neg- 
lected to  avail  themselves  of  the  many 
opportunities  offered  by  the  new  pub- 
licity medium.  As  in  all  things,  the  cost 
is  the  deciding  point,  and  although  the 
average  advertiser  will  not  quibble  over 
a  few  dollars  where  there  is  the  prospect 
of  increased  business,  he,  nevertheless, 
likes  to  know  beforehand  just  what  the 
campaign  is  going  to  cost. 

Every  business  man  thinks  of  the 
facts  before  anything  else,  and  this  chap- 
ter is  intended  to  furnish  them  so  that 

23 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

he  need  grope   in   the   dark   no   longer. 

I  will  suppose  you  follow  ^he  vade 
mecum  of  most  advertisers  and  arrange 
to  have  a  single-reel  motion  picture  pro- 
duced showing  conditions  at  your  plant. 
Even  though  it  is  only  an  industrial  sub- 
ject, it  calls  for  much  careful  thinking 
and  painstaking  effort.  A  scenario  will 
have  to  be  prepared,  and  in  this  the  vari- 
ous details  you  wish  emphasized  are 
introduced  in  logical  order.  You  can,  of 
course,  withhold  the  trade  secrets  that 
are  not  desirable  for  the  public  to  see. 
There  is  also  a  knack  in  inserting  and 
wording  the  subtitles,  for  one  is  fre- 
quently employed  to  explain  the  obvious. 
This  results  in  film  wastage,  while  all  the 
difficult  points  should  be  explained  as 
explicitly  as  possible,  as  each  word  used 
consumes  one  foot  of  film. 

A  very  bad  habit  which  readily  be- 
comes apparent  and  detracts  the  atten- 
tion of  spectators  from  the  object  of  the 

24 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

film  is  the  employees  at  the  plant  staring 
hard  at  the  camera  while  working.  This 
defect  has  marred  a  good  many  indus- 
trials, and  it  gives  the  impression  that 
the  workers  are  aware  of  what  is  hap- 
pening, whereas  everything  should  appear 
perfectly  natural. 

The  movie  camera  man  next  films  the 
picture  according  to  the  scenario,  allow- 
ing, however,  a  certain  amount  of  feet 
for  each  incident,  which  depends  on  the 
importance  of  same.  Providing  sufficient 
daylight  is  available,  the  usual  inclusive 
fee  charged  for  the  producing  and  de- 
veloping of  such  a  film  is  fifty  cents  per 
foot — or  $500  for  the  entire  reel,  which 
is  exactly  a  thousand  feet.  This  is  only 
for  the  negative,  ten  cents  per  foot  being 
charged  for  each  positive  copy.  You  will, 
naturally,  require  more  than  one  print, 
so  you  can  figure  on  a  cost  of  $100  for 
each  copy.  I  will  come  back  to  this  point 
later. 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

Maybe  in  parts  of  your  manufactur- 
ing plant  daylight  is  at  a  premium,  in 
which  event  you  will  be  obliged  to  pay 
fifty  cents  more  per  foot  for  the  nega- 
tive copy  for  installing  the  necessary 
artificial  lighting.  These  charges  include 
an  allowance  for  padding,  which  is 
promptly  eliminated,  thus  improving  the 
whole  picture. 

One  does  not  have  to  seek  far  why 
the  comedy  and  dramatic  photoplay  is 
not  popular  with  most  motion-picture 
advertisers  down  to  date.  Yet,  if  they 
only  knew  the  truth,  they  would  find 
that  movie  audiences  enjoy  an  entertain- 
ing story  better  than  an  advertisement 
contained  in  a  film  which  merely  strives 
to  educate.  The  former,  as  one  might 
expect,  is  more  involved  and  expensive. 
In  the  first  place,  a  good  story  is  essen- 
tial, and  this  may  only  be  expected  from 
an  experienced  photoplaywright  who  has 
an    appreciation    of    advertising    values. 

26 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

Personally  speaking,  I  have  received  as 
much  as  $100  for  conceiving  and  putting 
a  one-reel  photoplay  in  scenario  form. 
Then  you  v^ill  need  a  capable  cast  of 
actors  and  a  talented  director  to  produce 
the  picture  in  order  to  give  it  a  distinctly 
expert  professional  touch.  Probably  in- 
terior scenes  are  called  for  outside  of 
your  w^orks.  These  have  to  be  erected 
in  the  studio  at  an  additional  expense. 

The  cost,  of  course,  depends  on  the 
nature  of  the  play,  but  all  these  things 
should  be  provided  from  $1.25  to  $3  per 
foot.  This  works  out  at  a  cost  of  from 
$1,250  to  $3,000  for  producing  the  nega- 
tive. 

It  is  w^ell  to  remember  that,  once  the 
film  has  been  produced,  it  is  alv^ays  avail- 
able, the  only  extra  charge  being  for 
extra  positive  copies  you  may  require  to 
replace  the  ones  in  use  v^hen  v^orn  out. 
If  you  w^ant  to  save  expense  in  the  mat- 
ter, and  do  not  object  to  delay  in  opera- 

27 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

ting  your  campaign,  you  can  arrange  for 
a  given  number  of  your  dealers  over  a 
certain  territory  to  retain  the  film  for  a 
day,  then  loan  it  to  the  local  motion-pic- 
ture theater  for  its  evening  show.  If, 
however,  you  want  to  cover  all  the  terri- 
tory at  one  time,  then  you  will  need  more 
prints  in  circulation. 

Do  not  permit  a  print  to  be  constantly 
in  use  for  more  than  six  months  without 
replacing  it  with  a  new  copy,  for  you 
have  to  make  a  due  allowance  for  wear 
and  tear.  It  would  not  do  to  let  your 
film  graduate  to  the  "rainy"  stage, 
since  your  pictorial  advertisement,  to 
leave  a  good  impression  on  movie  audi- 
ences, must  be  in  perfect  condition. 

Unfortunately,  no  general  advertising 
circulation  plan  has  been  put  in  execution, 
but  it  is  best  either  to  have  the  producing 
concern  help  you  out,  or  else  rely  upon 
your  dealers  to  aid  you  in  their  respective 
localities.     Being  on  the  spot  and  know- 

28 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

ing  the  co-operation  is  to  the  advantage 
of  all  concerned,  he  can,  no  doubt,  ar- 
range matters  with  the  best  local  exhib- 
itor. The  fee  for  showing  is  merely  a 
matter  of  arrangement,  but  in  many  cases 
you  will  incur  no  expense. 


IV. 

SOME   FILM  ADVERTISING   METHODS 
FOR    THE    MANUFACTURER 

Boosting  Trademarks 

I  will  first  endeavor  to  show  the  pro- 
prietor of  an  advertised  article  the  best 
uses  to  which  the  motion  picture  can  be 
put,  for  some  "copy"  screens  better  than 
others,  and  the  advertiser  should  use  dis- 
crimination. 

Now,  one  of  the  greatest  assets  a 
manufacturer  can  have  is  a  trademark. 
This  he  uses  as  fuel  when  trying  to  point 
out  to  the  public,  by  means  of  press  an- 
nouncements, posters  and  literature,  not 
to  accept  substitutes.  Be  the  trademark 
a  good  one  for  pictorial  purposes,  and  a 
specialist  is  called  in  to  give  the  branded 
article  a  lasting  impression  on  the  public 
desired    to    reach,    and    the    results    will 

30 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

please.  I  am  a  photoplay  writer  who 
specializes  in  writing  such  plays  to  order, 
so  I  know  what  I  am  talking  about. 

Making  Catch  Phrases  More 
Popular 

Catch  phrases  are  also  good  plot 
germs,  and  are  capable  of  being  worked 
in  the  same  manner  as  trademarks. 

Not  a  few  of  our  leading  manufac- 
turers have  familiar  persons  in  connec- 
tion with  their  standard  articles.  The 
other  year  Messrs.  Siemen  Brothers,  an 
English  firm,  brought  their  well-known 
"Wotan"  maid  and  "Tantalum"  man  to 
life  in  a  film.  It  was  a  comedy,  and  the 
plot's  mission,  besides  introducing  these 
figures,  was  to  bring  home  how  75  per 
cent,  of  the  electric-light  bill  could  be 
saved  by  the  "Wotan"  and  "Tantalum" 
lamps.  This  play  was  first  shown  at  one 
of  the  local  theaters  and  was  well 
received. 

31 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

Bringing  Romance  to  Light 

Behind  many  commercial  undertak- 
ings there  is  romance.  It  may  be  for- 
gotten in  the  press  of  business,  but 
human  interest  is  too  valuable  as  a  pub- 
licity stunt  to  be  overlooked,  il  is  quite 
possible  that  these  romantic  stories  are 
not  appreciated  at  their  full  value  until 
a  motion-picture  publicity  expert  comes 
along  and  squeezes  all  the  "juice"  out  of 
them. 

The  motion-picture  industry  "has  made 
its  marvelous  progress  through  the  life- 
like stories  that  predominate  in  the  pic- 
ture theaters.  It,  therefore,  only  stands 
to  reason  that  a  real  life  story  would 
have  a  better  appealing  power. 


32 


SLTOE   AND   FILM   ADVERTISING   CON- 
TRASTED 

When  using  the  press,  you  either  ad- 
vertise in  the  newspapers  or  magazines, 
or  both.  So  is  there  more  than  one 
medium  at  the  motion-picture  theater. 
You  can  employ  a  sHde  or  a  film  to  pre- 
sent your  advertisement,  according  to 
which  of  the  two  devices  you  may  favor. 
I  have  no  axe  to  grind  in  contrasting  the 
two  mediums,  so  will  do  so  in  a  fair 
manner. 

As  the  direct  results  of  my  investi- 
gations in  numerous  motion-picture  thea- 
ters of  all  types  in  and  around  New  York 
and  Brooklyn,  which  set  the  average  for 
the  rest  of  the  country,  I  have  made  the 
discovery  that  there  is  a  far  greater 
percentage  of  the  manufacturers  adopt- 

8  33 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

ing  slides  than  films.  Why  is  this  so, 
then?  Personally  speaking,  I  think  that 
it  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  one  thing 
most  in  vogue  is  considerably  cheaper 
than  the  other.  I  say  this  without  any 
thought  of  giving  offense  to  advertisers, 
for  I  know  that  the  wise  ones  regard 
results  as  of  paramount  importance 
rather  than  haggling  over  the  question 
of  price.  Maybe,  however,  they  haven't 
been  acquainted  with  the  screen  long 
enough  as  a  publicity  outlet  to  become 
sufficiently  conversant  with  the  two 
channels. 

One  big  drawback  is  that  few  of  the 
slides  are  attractive  enough  to  become 
business  producers.  It  is  one  thing  to 
gain  attention  and  another  thing  to  re- 
tain it.  It  only  stands  to  reason  that 
you  can  not  expect  an  audience  to  be 
interested  in  a  dull  and  commonplace 
business  any  more  than  you  can  hope  a 
hackneyed   newspaper   ad.    to   return   an 

34 


Advertising   by    Motion    Pictures 

investment.  It  might  have  done  when 
advertising  was  in  its  infancy,  but  to-day, 
never. 

Even  greater  pains  should  be  taken 
in  preparing  the  matter  for  a  slide,  for 
the  folks  that  you  will  shortly  show  it  to 
have  been  educated  up  to  seeing  things 
excellent  in  pictorial  form.  Neither  is 
just  one  slide  sufficient  in  order  to  get 
home.  You  must  take  into  consideration, 
too,  that  yours  is  only  one  of  a  dozen  or 
more  thrown  on  the  screen.  The  whole 
batch  are  usually  projected  after  the 
reels  have  been  shown,  in  rapid  succes- 
sion. Since  you  are  competing  with  a 
bunch  of  advertisers,  no  matter  whether 
they  be  competitors  or  not,  you  cannot 
expect  an  audience  to  indulge  in  a  game 
of  mental  gymnastics  so  as  to  remember 
them  all.  They  are,  to  use  a  slangy  ex- 
pression, tempted  to  bite  off  more  than 
they  can  chew. 

Besides,  place  yourself  in  the  position 

35 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

of  motion-picture  playgoers.  They  don't 
attend  merely  to  witness  a  magic-lantern 
show  or  to  read  books.  The  former  is 
out  of  date,  while  the  latter  they  can  do 
at  their  leisure  at  home.  You  can't  be 
surprised  at  them  taking  offense  when 
they  are  forced  (that  is  the  strongest 
word  for  it)  to  wade  through  a  tiresome 
number  of  slides  before  the  next  reel  is 
shown.  The  practice  merely  helps  to 
blackball  the  advertiser,  and  that  surely 
is  the  last  thing  to  be  desired. 

If  you  are  still  in  favor  of  slides,  then 
take  my  tip  and  get  out  of  the  rut;  only, 
first  of  all,  bear  in  mind  that  you  are  not 
preparing  something  for  people  to  read, 
but  see.  Your  ad.  will  then  stand  out 
above  the  rest.  Introduce  pictures,  pref- 
erably something  to  make  them  laugh. 
You  can  make  them  move,  too !  Who  does 
not  remember  the  Old  Dutch  Cleanser 
lady  chasing  Dirt,  all  within  the  limited 
compass  of  a  single  slide?    You  can  also 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

picturize  comic  stories  on  similar  lines  to 
those  contained  in  the  comic  sections  of 
the  metropolitan  Sunday  newspapers. 
Run  the  series  as  a  serial,  and  so  maintain 
the  interest  from  day  to  day.  It  is  going 
to  cost  you  more,  'tis  true,  but  you  will  be 
recompensed  amply.  Another  grave  mis- 
take is  to  allow  a  slide  to  be  shown  at  the 
same  theater  several  weeks  in  succession, 
for  movie  fans  are  accustomed  to  a 
varied  daily  change  of  program  and  hate 
seeing  the  same  thing  over  again. 

My  main  reason  for  favoring  a  film 
is  because  it  is  the  right  vehicle  in  the 
right  place.  The  twenty  million  Ameri- 
cans go  to  see  pictures  in  motion,  and  it 
has  been  proved  from  experience  that  the 
average  movie  patron  does  not  object  to 
a  film  which  combines  either  instruction 
or  entertainment.  A  motion  picture  tak- 
ing an  audience  through  your  manufac- 
turing plant  and  bringing  out  all  the 
selling  points  you  wish  would  come  under 

37 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

the  former  heading,  while  a  comedy  or 
dramatic  photoplay  incorporating  your 
ad.  would  be  applicable  to  the  second 
designation.  By  one  or  the  other  of  these 
ways  your  campaign  would  get  over  more 
convincingly,  and  you  could  conduct  it  on 
an  extensive  scale.  There  would  be  no 
possibility  about  it  not  sinking  into  the 
audience,  inasmuch  as  good  pictures 
always  do  have  this  effect. 

It  is  also  pleasing  to  know  that  you 
would  have  no  competition  to  contend 
with,  for  the  simple  reason  that  no  ex- 
hibitor with  brains  would  think  of  inclu- 
ding more  than  one  picture  of  this  nature 
on  his  regular  program.  As  the  semi-ad. 
film  is  extra,  why  should  spectators  be 
offended  in  the  least?  Or,  come  to  that, 
you  could  stipulate  in  the  contract  to 
this  effect.  You  would  thus  enjoy  a 
monopoly  of  the  screen  and  not  be  in 
fear  of  the  attention  of  the  audience 
being  divided.    Your  film  is  on  the  screen 

S8 


Advertising   by    Motion    Pictures 

for  eighteen  minutes  or  more,  whereas  a 
sUde  barely  occupies  a  minute. 

It  must  not  be  thought  that  I  am 
wishing  to  denounce  shde  advertising; 
far  from  it,  let  me  assure  you.  It  has  its 
uses. 

Naturally,  to  secure  the  desired  re- 
sults, you  have  to  work  in  co-operation 
with  the  dealers  throughout  the  country. 
Now,  with  a  film  alone  you  can  accom- 
plish this  much  satisfactorily,  but  an  at- 
tractive slide  shown  on  the  screen  after 
the  film  has  been  run  over  fills  the  gap 
O.  K.  It  also  acts  as  a  follow-up  and 
direct-appeal  stunt,  for  it  is  no  earthly 
use  familiarizing  people  with  your  goods 
without  acquainting  them  where  they 
may  be  obtained  locally.  Put  forward 
some  attractive  proposition  and  get  the 
people  to  action.  The  slide  has  always 
been  a  device  more  eminently  suited  for 
retailers  on  account  of  it  being  inexpen- 
sive, and  the  manufacturer  should  there- 

39 


Advertising  by  Motion   Pictures 

fore  only  employ  it  as  an  ally  to  his 
movie  publicity  campaign.  Then  both 
will  work  to  mutual  advantage. 


40 


VI. 

USING  THE  FILM  TO  SECURE  FOREIGN 
BUSINESS 

At  this  time,  when  every  live  manu- 
facturer is  hastening  to  place  his  "made 
in  America*'  goods  on  a  large  scale  in 
foreign  countries  cut  off  by  the  European 
war,  he  will,  naturally,  be  responsive  to 
all  publicity  mediums  which  offer  value. 

Creating  a  demand  for  your  wares  in 
new  lands  is,  as  one  is  well  aware,  a 
far  harder  task  than  is  capturing  fresh 
business  at  home,  so,  if  the  desired  vol- 
ume of  trade  is  to  be  obtained,  there  must 
be  no  stinting  on  the  advertising  cam- 
paign expenditure.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
there  is  any  publicity  outlets  that  can 
outshine  the  versatile  motion  picture  in 
the  all-important  capacity  of  a  results 
bringer.    If  you  are  inclined  to  doubt  the 

41 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

pulling  powers  of  this  medium,  allow  me 
to  draw  your  attention  to  some  convinc- 
ing facts  in  its  favor. 

In  Serbia,  most  of  the  photoplays 
shown  in  the  theaters  there  hail  from  the 
United  States.  On  the  authority  of  Dep- 
uty Consul  R.  J.  Nevakavitch,  of  Bel- 
grade, I  am  able  to  state  that,  two  years 
ago,  American  fashions  became  suddenly 
popular  in  Serbia.  It  is  of  frequent 
occurrence  to  run  up  against  men — and 
it  is  not  confined  to  the  younger  frater- 
nity— in  Belgrade  with  their  hair  cut  a  la 
American,  while  their  clothes  show  that 
the  native  tailors  are  endeavoring  to 
approach  Uncle  Sam's  style.  In  addition, 
American  types  of  hats,  shoes  and  boots 
are  largely  in  demand. 

If  films  of  the  fiction  variety  have 
such  an  efifect  on  foreigners  as  this,  there 
can  be  no  possible  room  for  doubt  that 
advertising  pictures  pure  and  simple  can 
produce  even  better  results  individually. 

42 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

The  main  setback  to  the  opening  of 
business  relations  in  new  countries  is  the 
strict  conservatism  of  the  dealers,  who 
have  a  great  dislike  to  entering  into  nego- 
tiations with  foreign  manufacturers,  just 
because  the  language,  money,  weights  and 
measures  are  different  to  what  they  are 
accustomed  to.  The  Belgrade  consul 
furthermore  suggested  that  this  might  be 
overcome  by  tackling  the  prospective  con- 
sumers first  at  the  movie  shows.  The 
preference  that  would  ultimately  spring 
up  for  American  products  would  practi- 
cally compel  the  local  dealer  to  respond  by 
stocking  the  same. 

Before  the  present  war  was  in  the  air, 
a  commercial  body  named  British  Indus- 
tries, Limited,  comprising  the  leading 
manufacturers,  prepared  an  eight-reel 
film.  The  principal  industries  were  dealt 
with,  each  merchant  being  allotted  eight 
hundred  feet  in  which  to  tell  his  "story." 
The  complete  picture  was  exhibited,  not 

43 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

only  in  John  Bull's  colonies,  but  in 
foreign  countries  as  well. 

Germany,  too,  recently  boosted  its 
industries  in  foreign  markets.  The  Asso- 
ciation for  the  Promotion  of  Foreign 
Trade  arranged  for  the  taking  of  a  series 
of  films.  These  were  shown  abroad,  and 
the  lecturers,  who  discoursed  on  the  pic- 
tures, worded  their  speeches  so  general 
in  appeal  that  the  public  was  unaware  of 
the  true  purpose  of  such  demonstrations. 

Now,  of  course,  these  things  have 
been  knocked  on  the  head,  which  is  all 
the  more  reason  why  our  biggest  manu- 
facturers should  get  together. 

It  is  obvious,  however,  that  an  under- 
taking on  these  extensive  lines  only 
appeals  to  the  recognized  leaders  in  each 
line  of  business,  so  smaller  commercial 
concerns  will  find  it  advantageous  to 
carry  out  a  movie  campaign  entirely  of 
their  own. 

A  good  proportion  of  the  motion-pic- 

44 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

ture  theaters  abroad  are  always  glad  to 
snap  up  such  pictures  free  and  to  include 
them  on  the  ordinary  entertainment.  To 
monopolize  the  advertising  in  the  theater 
program,  and  defray  the  printing  of 
same,  is  a  reliable  follow-up  campaign. 


4S 


VIL 

APPROACHING  THE  WORKING   CLASSES 
WITH  A  MOTION-PICTURE   PLAY 

It  was  the  Bard  of  Stratford  who 
said  that  *'the  play  was  the  thing."  Al- 
though it  then  referred  to  the  legitimate 
stage,  as  it  does  now,  it  can  to-day  apply 
aptly  to  the  motion-picture  theater.  A 
good  story  is,  also,  the  ideal  vehicle  for 
film  advertising. 

The  twenty  million  movie  fans  in  this 
country  frequent  their  favorite  form  of 
amusement  to  be  entertained,  and  some 
greatly  resent  the  pure  advertising  or 
semi-educationals  which  they  often  have 
to  sit  out. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  it  is 
the  one  kind  of  relaxation  by  which  the 
working  classes  are  able  to  get  away 
from  the  monotony  and  hardness  of  their 

46 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

every-day  existence.  They,  therefore, 
want  their  fare  served  up  in  an  appeti- 
zing manner.  Anything  else  is  apt  to 
prove  a  bore,  and  you  can  thus  see  what 
kind  of  a  receptive  mood  by  which  you 
have  to  approach  the  average  motion- 
picture  audience.  That  is  why  it  is  ad- 
visable to  have  your  advertising  points 
ingeniously  incorporated  in  either  a  com- 
edy or  drama,  the  former  preferably. 

The  most  common  type  of  ad.  film  is 
the  industrialog,  portraying  the  processes 
by  which  certain  goods  are  manufactured. 
Several  of  these  subjects  I  have  seen  at 
the  picture  shows  lately  were  so  unnec- 
essarily padded  that  they  were  enough  to 
send  spectators  to  sleep.  No  wise  adver- 
tiser would  attempt  to  cram  in  all  the 
matter  he  could  into  the  smallest  possible 
space  in  his  press  announcements,  neither 
should  he  try  it  on  the  film. 

Industrialogs  undoubtedly  appeal 
more  to  a  better-class   audience,   but  it 

47 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

must  be  remembered  that  a  good  pro- 
portion of  the  movie  theaters  are  still 
nickel  shows,  which  attract  the  working 
classes.  These  folks  see  enough  of  fac- 
tory and  business  life  in  the  daytime,  so 
they  do  not  want  to  be  inflicted  with  it 
when  endeavoring  to  get  away  from  the 
atmosphere.  Here  you  have  a  large 
audience  which  is  extremely  difficult  to 
address  via  the  press,  for  the  majority 
go  in  for  hardly  any  reading  at  all.  May- 
be they  haven't  got  the  inclination  or 
money  to  do  it.  Their  custom  is  certainly 
worth  while  cultivating,  and  no  doubt 
they  can  understand  pictures  better  than 
books,  as,  when  the  world  was  young, 
pictures  were  drawn  on  slabs  of  stone  to 
indicate  what  otherwise  could  not  be 
explained.  Compelled  to  go  out  to  work 
at  an  early  age  is  responsible  for  a  good 
proportion  of  the  masses  being  poor 
readers  and  writers.  By  the  motion 
pictures,   however,  you  can   approach   a 

48 


Advertising   by    Motion    Pictures 

public    previously    beyond    your     reach. 

I  recently  was  commissioned  to  write 
a  short  comedy  scenario  for  a  well-known 
tobacco  manufacturer,  and  here  follows 
the  synopsis  of  the  plot: 

Bill,  a  workingman,  is  enjoying  his 

pipe  of  Tobacco  in  the  parlor  of 

his  home,  when  a  passerby  notices  smoke 
issuing  from  the  window.  Thinking  the 
house  on  fire,  he  brings  the  fire  depart- 
ment on  the  scene.  They  turn  the  hose 
on  the  house,  and,  after  a  severe  drench- 
ing. Bill  escapes.  He  is  indignant  at 
being  duped  by  the  passerby,  and  the 
firemen  also  resent  being  made  fools  of. 
They  then  turn  the  hose  on  the  culprit, 
who  pleads  for  mercy.  Bill  offers  to 
release  him  if  he  buys  four  packages  of 

Tobacco  all  round.     The  passerby 

agrees,  and  hurries  off  to  the  shop  to 
buy  the  same,  pacifying  his  victims,  who 
are  left  enjoying  the  tobacco. 

For  «ome  things  drama  is  better  for 

4  49 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

hammering  points  home,  but  stick  to 
comedy  as  much  as  you  can — it  is  more 
popular  with  movie  audiences. 

The  French  branch  of  the  Remington 
Typewriter  Company  recently  had  a 
photoplay  story  produced  which  con- 
cerned a  working  girl,  who,  on  her 
father's  death,  was  the  only  support  of 
the  family.  Through  the  firm  cutting 
down  expenses  she  is  dismissed,  and 
vainly  endeavors  to  obtain  another  posi- 
tion as  a  stenographer.  At  the  end  of 
her  resources,  she  obtains  a  Remington 
typewriter  on  the  installment  plan  and 
obtains  sufficient  clients  to  provide  her 
with  work. 

It  is  seldom  advisable  to  go  beyond  a 
reel,  which  occupies  about  eighteen  min- 
utes on  the  screen,  for  that  is  the  ideal 
length.  Audiences  will  stand  this  with- 
out a  murmur  of  protest,  since  they  ap- 
preciate one  good  extra  reel  on  the  pro- 
gram.     It    matters    little    whether    they 

50 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

realize  that  it  is  advertising  disguised. 
Quick  action  is  one  of  the  things  that 
have  been  responsible  for  the  great  pres- 
ent vogue  of  the  motion  picture,  so  have 
your  producer  compress  all  he  can  into 
every  foot  of  film.  It  should  then  bring 
you  more  than  the  desired  results. 


61 


VIII. 

REACHING  THE  PUBLIC  BY  MOTION 
PICTURES 

After  an  advertising  film  has  been 
produced,  and  the  owner  wants  to  get 
his  investment  back  with  a  fair  amount 
of  interest,  the  question  naturally  arises 
as  to  the  means  of  distribution.  A  con- 
vincing motion  picture  is  half  the  battle 
won,  but  it  is  obviously  practically  worth- 
less unless  the  prospective  purchaser  be 
reached.  Like  the  placing  of  ordinary 
publicity  matter  with  the  press,  the  mar- 
keting of  a  commercial  photoplay  is  a 
science.  No  ironclad  rules  can  be  laid 
down,  for  the  simple  reason  that  every- 
thing depends  on  the  proposition  itself. 
I  shall,  therefore,  confine  myself  to 
methods  that  have  been  employed  in 
general  campaigns. 

52 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

Improving  the  Ordinary  Theater 
Plan 

Once  upon  a  time — and  it  was  not  so 
far  back,  either — it  was  a  comparatively 
easy  matter  to  coax  a  motion-picture 
exhibitor  to  take  an  advertising  picture 
for  one  or  more  days'  showing,  but  now- 
adays it  is  hard  work  to  do  so,  for  there 
are  now  ten  manufacturers  to  every  one 
that  adopted  fihn  advertising  as  part  and 
parcel  of  its  publicity  campaign  in  the 
past.  For  another  thing,  the  movie  show- 
man has  begun  to  realize  that  it  is  adver- 
tising pure  and  simple,  although  an  at- 
tempt may  be  made  to  disguise  this 
significant  fact.  Being  a  business  man, 
he  naturally  considers  it  only  fair  that 
he  should  be  appropriately  remunerated. 
His  attitude  has  prevented  the  screen 
medium  getting  into  a  rut,  since  it  has 
allowed  enterprise  to  enter  into  the  intri- 
cate  problem   of   reaching  the   public,   a 

53 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

condition  that  was  formerly  confined  to 
the  actual  film.  One  without  the  other 
only  tends  to  spoil  the  results. 

Here  in  New  York  the  American 
Druggists  Syndicate  recently  brought  out 
a  motion-picture  theater  accommodating 
six  hundred,  for  $150  per  day  during  the 
first  three  days  of  the  week.  The  ordi- 
nary dramatic  and  comedy  photoplays 
were  used  to  entertain  audiences,  and  the 
program  only  differed  in  that  ten  minutes 
was  set  apart  for  a  trained  lecturer,  dis- 
coursing on  a  series  of  slides  setting  forth 
the  merits  of  his  firm's  goods. 

All  the  box-office  receipts  went  to  the 
pro  tern,  exhibitor.  Every  patron,  on 
paying  for  admission,  was  handed  a  cou- 
pon which  was  good  for  twenty-five  cents 
at  any  A.  D.  S.  store  in  the  locality.  The 
house  was  filled  to  overflowing  on  every 
occasion  as  the  result  of  this  dandy 
scheme,  thus  proving  the  value  of  a  good 
premium  to  which  the  sporting  element 

54 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

is  not  attached.  It  is  safe  to  say  that 
their  products  were  introduced  to  many 
for  the  first  time,  and  innumerable  new 
permanent  consumers  were  added  to  their 
already  long  list. 

Co-OPERATING   WITH    THE   DeALER 

In  the  case  of  a  proprietary  line,  the 
dealer  has  to  be  "roped  in"  before  a  suc- 
cessful appeal  can  be  made  to  the  public. 
He  would  be  first  advised  of  the  forth- 
coming motion-picture  campaign  through 
the  medium  of  his  favorite  trade  journal. 
And,  unless  it  is  localized,  he  will  prob- 
ably regard  it  as  of  no  consequence  to 
him. 

When  the  Jewell  stoves  and  ranges 
were,  a  short  time  ago,  boosted  by  motion 
pictures  in  numerous  towns,  the  two-reel 
film,  occupying  about  thirty  minutes  on 
the  screen,  which  depicted  the  various 
processes  in  the  making  of  the  goods, 
was  exhibited  after  the  ordinary  program 

55 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

was  over,  a  small  fee  being  paid  for  the 
privilege.  The  film  was  advertised  in  the 
local  newspapers,  and  an  arrangement 
was  effected  with  the  local  dealer  where- 
by his  advertising  copy  linked  up  with 
the  film,  resulting  in  people  being  sent 
to  his  store. 

Touring  Rural  Communities  with 
Films 

Another  excellent  plan  is  to  equip  a 
commercial  automobile  with  cinemato- 
graphic apparatus  and  films,  and,  under 
charge  of  a  trained  lecturer,  despatch  it 
to  rural  communities  that  may  be  desired 
to  reach.  There  are  a  good  many  places 
too  small  to  support  a  movie  show  even 
to-day,  and  such  a  one  given  nightly  in 
the  main  street  would  attract  all  the  sur- 
rounding population.  In  a  way,  it  would 
be  a  novelty  to  them,  and  more  especially 
so  as  the  exhibition  is  free. 

This  was  done  by  Acetylene  Publicity, 

56 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

Limited,  of  London,  who  toured  the  small 
villages  in  Britain  to  demonstrate  the 
advantages  of  acetylene  lighting  and 
cooking  apparatus  by  means  of  a  film 
lecture.  When  the  weather  was  not  fit 
for  outdoor  shows,  a  tent  was  erected, 
or  else  a  local  hall  hired  for  the  purpose. 
The  route  was  made  to  extend  to  one 
year,  a  stop  being  made  at  all  villages 
and  towns  passed  on  the  trip,  the  dura- 
tion of  which  depended  on  the  size  and 
importance  of  the  place.  It  was  usually, 
however,  for  one  night. 

Although,  as  far  as  I  know,  this  is  a 
new  idea  to  America,  there  is  no  reason 
why  it  can  not  be  adopted  successfully 
over  here.  It  can  be  applied  to  practically 
all  lines  of  business  appealing  to  the 
consumer. 

Mr.  C.  M.  Lemperly,  advertising 
manager  of  the  Sherwin-Williams  Com- 
pany, of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  who  attribute 
a   fourteen  per  cent,   increase   in   actual 

57 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

sales  during  the  last  business  year  to 
motion-picture  publicity,  declares  that,  as 
a  medium  of  small-town  circulation,  it  is 
doubtful  if  there  is  any  better  advertising 
proposition  on  the  market  than  the 
motion  picture.  Further  to  this  signifi- 
cant statement,  it  is  satisfactory  to  note 
that  the  firms  to  take  up  this  new  medium 
continue  to  increase,  and  they  stick  in  for 
good. 

Greatly  exaggerated  circulations  are 
held  out  by  inexperienced  industrial  film 
producers,  so  the  advertiser  should  take 
his  proposition  to  the  recognized  special- 
ists along  this  particular  line.  Their 
statements,  he  will  find,  will  stand  being 
tested  and  proved.  He  will  also  be  as- 
sured that  his  film  will  be  satisfactory 
from  a  technical  point  of  view. 


58 


IX. 

INTRODUCING    ADVERTISEMENTS    INTO 
MOTION-PICTURE    NEWSPAPERS 

A  New  Opening  for  Publicity  Enter- 
prise 

•It  is  as  well  to  know,  if  you  were  not 
already  aware  of  it,  that  motion-picture 
advertising  is  a  passing  fad  no  more. 
Instead,  it  is  a  tested  ad.  medium  and 
is  worthy  of  as  much  attention  as  are  the 
old  established  publicity  outlets,  so,  if  you 
are  one  of  its  devotees,  it  is  up  to  you  to 
impart  some  originality  to  your  next 
movie  campaign,  for  there  is  danger  of 
permitting  this  excellent  medium  to  drop 
into  a  rut. 

Since  newspaper  advertising  is  so 
highly  valued,  why,  therefore,  neglect  the 
splendid  chances  offered  by  the  motion- 
picture  equivalent?     I  refer  to  the  sev- 

59 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

eral  animated  weeklies  published  by  the 
leading  film  factions.  I  have  approached 
the  producers  on  the  subject,  but  they  all 
seem  to  be  averse  to  selling  their  "space," 
because  they  have  their  fears  that  they 
will  incur  the  displeasure  of  the  exhibit- 
ors who  hire  their  pictures.  This  is  a 
very  narrow-minded  way  of  sizing  up  the 
situation,  for,  if  the  producers  added 
additional  films  to  allow  for  the  adver- 
tisements carried,  it  could  be  settled  in  an 
amicable  manner  to  both  sides,  while  a 
new  source  of  revenue  would  be  opened 
to  the  movie  publisher.  It  would  be  a 
comparatively  easy  matter  to  sandwich  in 
a  small  ad.  film,  devised  to  fit  the  pur- 
pose, between  the  news  items.  As  in  the 
case  of  advertising  that  is  placed  between 
the  text-matter  in  the  press,  it  would 
possess  greater  publicity  values. 

The  possibilities  of  the  medium  may 
be  judged  by  the  fact  that  these  animated 
newspapers  reach  something  like  twenty 

60 


Advertising  by   Motion    Pictures 

million  people  of  all  classes  weekly,  from 
Maine  to  California. 

All  film  ads.,  irrespective  of  the  posi- 
tion they  may  be  placed,  would  command 
concentrated  attention  and  call  no  effort 
on  the  part  of  an  audience,  if  the  appeal 
is  presented  through  the  eye  and  there 
is  nothing  to  distract  attention  or  allow 
any  member  to  deliberately  not  give  your 
ad.  at  least  the  once  over.  In  these  all- 
important  points,  the  motion  picture  has 
a  considerable  advantage  over  the  press. 

Who  would  think  of  inflicting  the 
press  agency  stuff  on  film  producers? 
Yet  the  English  branch  of  Spratts,  the 
well-known  dog- food  specialists,  did  so 
on  a  recent  occasion.  They  were  favored 
with  a  contract  to  house  the  special  breed 
of  dogs  that  were  to  be  employed  for 
transport  work  in  the  Antarctic  expedi- 
tion and  to  supply  their  biscuits.  This 
news  item  was  given  out  to  one  of  the 
animated  newspapers,  which  was  invited 

61 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

to  send  an  operator.  The  film  concern 
snapped  up  the  chance  Hke  a  starving 
man  does  a  slice  of  bread,  for  great  in- 
terest was  centered  in  the  expedition  at 
the  time.  Before  the  camera  man's  arri- 
val at  the  kennels  the  chance  was  not 
neglected  to  display  posters  and  other 
advertising  matter  in  the  yard.  Not  only 
did  they  figure  prominently  on  the  film, 
but  the  explanatory  matter  told  all  about 
the  firm's  accomplishment.  Anything  that 
possesses  genuine  news  value,  and  can  be 
got  over  by  motion  pictures,  is  good  for 
capitalizing. 

It  is  now  extremely  difficult  to  per- 
suade an  exhibitor  to  put  on  an  ad.  film 
after  his  ordinary  program  for  nothing, 
so  ingenious  ruses  have  to  be  resorted 
to.  One  firm  hit  on  the  brilliant  idea  of 
getting  out  an  animated  news  weekly  of 
their  own.  Half  of  the  reel  each  week 
comprised  topical  events  covered  by  their 
own  cinematographer,  while  the  remain- 

62 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

ing  portion  was  a  booster  for  the  firm's 
goods.  The  reel  was  offered  free  to 
movie  showmen,  who  found  the  some- 
thing-for-nothing  bait  too  good  to  be 
resisted. 

Indeed,  by  looking  across  the  horizon, 
there  are  going  to  be  some  surprising 
developments  in  this  particular  direction 
very  soon,  if  I  am  anything  of  a  prophet, 
and  those  who  strike  the  iron  while  it  is 
hot,  which  is  right  now,  will  reap  the 
advantages. 


63 


X. 

EMPLOYING  MOTION  PICTURES  TO  AP- 
PEAL  TO   THE   CHILDREN 

In  these  days  of  strenuous  competi- 
tion and  enlightenment,  the  aid  of  the 
children  is  a  factor  not  to  be  lightly 
reckoned  with.  If  advertisers  have  dis- 
covered it  worth  while  to  appeal  to  them 
through  such  publicity  channels  as  the 
press  and  special  literature,  then  so  must 
it  be  productive  of  advantageous  re- 
sults if  you  pay  particular  attention  to 
this  element  in  your  next  motion-picture 
advertising  campaign. 

The  other  afternoon,  while  partaking 
of  lunch  at  home,  a  sample-man  came  to 
the  front  door  and  handed  the  maid  a 
liberal  trial  of  Shredded  Wheat.  This 
was  brought  in  by  her,  and  my  friend 
and  I  myself  being  both  keenly  interested 

64 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

in  advertising  problems,  our  conversation 
naturally  drifted  to  this  topic.  Much  to 
our  mingled  surprise,  my  friend's  little 
girl  of  twelve  chimed  in: 

"The  factory  in  which  Shredded 
Wheat  is  made  represents  the  last  word 
in  cleanliness,  and  is  sanitary  in  every 
respect."  She  didn't  say  these  words, 
but  they  were  to  this  effect. 

"How  do  you  know,  dearie?"  we 
asked,  dubiously. 

"Well,  at  one  of  our  Sunday-school 
entertainments  a  film  came  on,  showing 
the  Shredded  Wheat  plant  at  Niagara 
Falls,  and  I  remember  all  the  details  of 
the  picture." 

What  better  proof  can  you  have  than 
that?  A  child  absorbs  everything  eager- 
ly, and  there  is  no  likelihood  of  its  atten- 
tion being  diverted  elsewhere  in  the 
darkened  hall.  He  can  also  understand 
things  better  from  pictures  than  from 
words,  because  the  eye  is  the  magnet  and 

6  65 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

attracts  everything  that  appears  on  the 
magic  white  screen. 

Nor  is  this  the  only  example  which 
has  come  to  my  notice  lately.  I  used 
to  conduct  the  young  folks'  department 
in  the  Motion  Picture  Magazine,  and 
in  this  capacity  I  recently  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  judging  the  numerous  entries 
received  in  the  "What  I  Have  Learned 
from  Motion  Pictures"  competition.  One 
of  the  competitors — a  girl  of  fourteen — 
stated  that  she  has  seen  how  the  Ford 
automobile  is  put  together,  the  number 
turned  out  in  a  day,  and  the  roads  it  can 
be  made  to  go  over.  Take  good  note  of 
this  fact,  too — the  film  demonstration 
was  produced  in  Detroit,  Michigan,  and 
she  saw  the  picture  in  Coronado,  Cali- 
fornia. 

An  effort  submitted  by  a  boy  of  thir- 
teen contained  a  statement  that  he  knows 
how  many  things  are  manufactured,  al- 
though he  neglected  to  specify  whose  ad. 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

films  he  had   witnessed  at   the   theater. 

At  the  present  time  the  schools  in 
various  parts  of  the  country  are,  more 
or  less,  adopting  the  motion  picture  as 
part  and  parcel  of  their  educational 
course.  They  are,  for  the  most  part, 
only  too  glad  to  receive  the  free  hire  of 
a  film  depicting  how  your  goods  are 
made,  inasmuch  as  it  costs  them  at  least 
$5  for  the  day's  rental  for  a  single-reel, 
anti-ad.  industrial  picture.  Films  along 
these  lines  blend  well,  in  that  they  possess 
educational  qualities  for  school  use  and 
general  theater  consumption  besides  con- 
taining advertising  for  your  goods. 

In  some  cases  the  mothers  are  invited 
to  these  demonstrations,  and,  even  when 
they  are  not,  you  mav  rest  assured  that 
their  ofifspring  will  not  overlook  enthu- 
siastically reciting  all  they  have  seen. 

The  largest  publishing  organization  in 
England,  to  boost  their  morning  paper, 
the  London  Daily  Mail,  had  a  motion 

67 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

picture  produced  covering  all  the  stages 
in  paper  manufacture,  from  the  time  the 
tree  was  felled  until  the  finished  product 
lay  on  the  breakfast  table  of  the  reader. 

The  direct  advertising  incidents  pre- 
sented v^ere  those  of  the  making  of  the 
paper  in  their  ovni  mills  in  Newfound- 
land, its  arrival  at  their  London  wharf, 
and  the  spectator  was  then  transferred 
to  the  printing-plant,  where  the  complete 
editions  are  turned  out  rapidly  by  the 
latest  machines.  The  publishing  to  catch 
early  trains  to  all  parts  of  England  was, 
unfortunately,  omitted.  This  is  done  out- 
side in  the  wee  hours,  when  it  is  too  dark 
for  filming  purposes,  so  it  had,  instead, 
to  be  done  at  their  Manchester  branch, 
where  they  print  a  big  northern  edition 
at  daylight. 

Prizes  of  $15,  $10  and  $5,  respective- 
ly, were  offered  for  essays  on  the  picture 
written  by  schoolchildren  under  sixteen. 
There  was  also  a  similar  competition  for 

68 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

adults.  All  this  was  announced  in  their 
daily,  and  schoolteachers  in  and  around 
London  were  circularized,  advising  them 
when  and  where  the  picture  would  be 
shown  in  their  vicinity.  They  were  asked 
to  kindly  bring  it  before  the  notice  of 
their  pupils,  which  they  did. 

Motion-picture  exhibitors  availed 
themselves  of  the  opportunity  to  run  the 
film  for  three  days  and  Saturday  matinee 
free,  owing  to  the  advance  advertising 
accorded  the  picture  and  its  attractive 
qualities.  At  the  Saturday  matinees  the 
children  attended  in  full  force. 

I  understand,  on  very  good  authority, 
that  the  fifteen  hundred  feet  (one  and  a 
half  reels)  cost  $750  to  produce,  while 
the  six  positive  copies  used  for  circulation 
purposes  were  furnished  for  the  inclusive 
sum  of  $600.  The  campaign  was  such 
an  advertisement  and  circulation  stimu- 
lant that  its  evening  companion,  the 
News,    followed   it   up   by   inaugurating 


Advertising  by  Motion   Pictures 

a  series  of  weekly  children's  matinees, 
admission  being  in  return  for  a  coupon 
cut  from  the  paper.  Theaters  were 
bought  out  for  each  separate  occasion, 
the  amount  varying  according  to  capacity 
and  location.  The  program  comprised 
six  reels  of  educational  and  comedy  films, 
a  house  in  a  different  locality  being 
bought  out  each  week,  and  a  new  variety 
of  pictures  shown.  The  publication  in 
question  did  not  employ  a  film  of  its  own, 
but  relied  upon  the  advertising  received 
in  connection  with  the  shows  as  being 
sufficient. 

With  a  little  adjustment,  to  suit  the 
particular  line  of  business,  there  is  noth- 
ing to  prevent  the  London  Evening  News* 
plan  from  proving  equally  as  effective  on 
this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 


70 


XI. 

SALESMANSHIP  DEMONSTRATIONS  BY 
THE   FILM 

Motion-picture  publicity  is  so  pliable 
that  arranging  with  movie  theaters  to 
put  on  a  film  of  your  product  in  the  mak- 
ing and  equipping  salesmen  with  a  reel 
and  apparatus  to  demonstrate  before 
prospective  customers  does  not  exhaust 
its  uses. 

I  have  unearthed  a  New  York  manu- 
facturing concern  in  a  large  way  of  busi- 
ness who  have  fathomed  the  all-important 
matter  of  deriving  the  fullest  value 
from  their  movie-advertising  investment. 
They  utilize  their  film  to  teach  salesman- 
ship to  the  employees.  A  large  room  has 
been  rigged  up  as  a  miniature  picture 
theater,  and  every  week  half -hourly  pic- 
torial demonstrations  are  given  to  the 

71 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

Staff.  The  film  depicts  most  thoroughly 
the  manufacture  of  goods  sold  by  the 
firm. 

It  requires  no  great  stretch  of  the 
imagination  to  realize  that  to  attempt 
this  knowledge  in  the  ordinary  way  is 
oftentimes  a  too  lengthy  and  intricate 
task,  but  the  motion  picture  is  so  compe- 
tent in  simplifying  the  essential  details 
that,  after  seeing  the  movie  several 
times,  even  the  veriest  novice  can  talk 
intelligently  to  the  likely  buyer  on  every 
little  point  in  connection  with  the  making 
of  the  goods.  Such  clinching  arguments 
make  it  easier  to  effect  sales,  and  should 
the  prospect  imagine  that  the  salesman  is 
attempting  to  convince  him  with  a  lot  of 
hot-air  talk,  there  remains  the  actual  film 
to  back  up  his  arguments. 

An  engineering  firm  I  have  come 
across  in  my  travels  make  use  of  their 
private  theater  to  take  their  out-of-town 
customers    through    the    manufacturing 

72 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

processes  of  their  wares.  They  being 
middlemen,  the  information  thus  obtained 
is  passed  on  to  the  dubious  consumer, 
with  invariably  satisfactory  results. 

Practically  every  manufacturing  firm 
that  has  adopted — or  intends  so  doing — 
the  film  as  a  branch  of  their  advertising 
campaign  may  profit  by  applying  the 
plans  herewith  outlined  to  their  own 
special  circumstances. 


73 


XIL 

EQUIPPING  A  PRIVATE  MOTION-PICTURE 
THEATER  FOR  BUSINESS  PURPOSES 

The  manufacturer  who  intends  adopt- 
ing the  motion  picture  as  his  advertising 
offspring  for  all  time  will  find  it  neces- 
sary to  install  a  private  theater  in  his 
office  building  or  manufacturing  plant, 
according  to  what  he  may  decide  suits 
him  best.  This  miniature  theater  can 
be  made  to  serve  three  useful  purposes. 
One  is  to  try  out  each  new  advertising 
film  before  putting  it  into  circulation 
and  to  be  on  guard  for  defects  call- 
ing for  improvement.  The  second  is  to 
give  regular  demonstrations  before  the 
employees,  so  as  to  keep  them  up  to 
efficiency  pitch.  Thirdly,  it  is  always 
available  for  giving  shows  for  the  edifi- 
cation of  prospective  customers. 

74 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

The  authorities  throughout  the  coun- 
try are  getting  exceedingly  strict  anent 
the  showing  and  storing  of  films,  so  the 
room  selected  for  the  purpose  should  be 
made  as  fireproof  as  possible,  for  films 
are  mighty  inflammable. 

Although  no  actual  case  has  come  be- 
fore my  notice,  it  might  be  interesting  to 
compare  the  example  presented  by  the 
wealthy  homes  in  Cincinnati.  There  are 
private  motion-picture  theaters  there 
owned  by  the  well-to-do.  Both  architects 
and  fire-insurance  men  view  the  innova- 
tion in  the  light  that  no  ordinary  fire 
insurance  policy  holds  good  under  such 
circumstances.  Were  there  a  fire  to  re- 
sult, the  fire  insurance  company  having 
a  claim  on  the  same  would  fight  the  case 
out  in  the  courts  to  be  immune  from  com- 
pensation. 

The  danger  from  fire,  however,  is 
considerably  lessened  if  the  proper  pre- 
cautions are  taken.     But,  after  you  have 

75 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

equipped  your  private  theater,  it  is  best 
to  call  in  your  fire  insurance  agent  to 
investigate  and  discover  what  his  com- 
pany's action  will  be  in  the  matter. 

A  miniature  projecting  machine  will 
suit  you  just  as  well  as  one  of  the  stand- 
ard machines,  which  cost  three  times  as 
much  and  consume  more  current.  The 
only  difference  is  that  the  standard  ma- 
chines are  larger  and  have  a  longer  throw 
on  a  bigger  screen.  But  your  theater  will 
necessarily  be  a  miniature  one,  and  this 
makes  it  ideal  for  a  small  projector  fo- 
cused on  a  medium-sized  screen  at  a 
close  distance.  The  cost  of  the  average 
miniature  projector — there  are  several 
makes  on  the  market — is  $100.  Apart 
from  lessening  the  danger  from  fire,  such 
a  machine  can  be  easily  connected  with 
the  electric-light  current  at  present  avail- 
able. 

There  is  a  dandy  film  booth  listed  in 
the  catalog  of  a  large  motion-picture  ac- 

76 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

cessory  concern  for  $50.  It  is  portable 
and  made  of  steel,  the  size  being  four 
feet  wide,  five  feet  long  and  seven  feet 
high.  Only  twenty  minutes  is  occupied 
in  erecting  it  or  pulling  down.  This,  of 
course,  need  only  be  done  when  the  floor 
space  is  required  for  some  other  purpose 
when  the  theater  is  not  required.  Inside 
the  booth  the  operator  can  manipulate  the 
machine  with  perfect  safety,  for  if  the 
film  was  to  catch  fire,  the  blaze  would  be 
confined  to  the  booth  and  the  operator 
could  quench  the  flames  quickly  with  a 
fire-extinguisher. 

The  screen  that  gives  the  best  results 
and  is  used  in  the  majority  of  motion-pic- 
ture theaters  is  that  known  as  the  "Mir- 
roroide."  There  are  several  grades,  but 
the  best  is  a  medium  silver  white.  These 
screens  are  guaranteed  for  five  years 
against  deterioration,  peeling  or  cracking. 

The  size  of  your  screen  will  depend 
upon  how  your  room  is  situated.  I  should 

77 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

not  advise  a  too  small  one,  for  it  is  de- 
sirable to  display  all  the  selling  points  in 
as  advantageous  a  way  as  you  can.  I 
therefore  advocate  a  screen  of  not  less 
than  four  feet  by  three  feet.  The  mate- 
rial for  same  costs  $3.25  per  square  yard. 
You  will,  of  course,  have  to  make  pro- 
vision for  seating  accommodation,  and  it 
is  optional  whether  you  purchase  some 
special  theater  chairs  or  use  those  you 
have  already  in  use. 

A  competent  operator  will  expect 
from  $20  to  $25  per  week  salary,  but  as 
you  will  only  need  the  services  of  one 
for  part  time,  I  suggest  that  you  have 
one  of  your  mechanical  staff  act  in  that 
capacity  when  his  services  are  needed. 

The  steel  vault  or  safe  is  the  best 
storing-place  for  films  when  not  in  use. 


78 


XIII. 

INTRODUCING    COMPETITIONS   IN   AD. 
MOTION  PICTURES 

The  one  element  in  motion-picture  ad- 
vertising films  I  have  found  lacking  is 
enterprise.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that 
this  is  the  case  of  the  pictures  themselves, 
but  in  the  principle  of  the  whole  propo- 
sition. Compare  the  printed  matter  got- 
ten out  by  the  big  advertisers.  What  do 
you  discover?  Why,  numerous  devices 
to  attract  readers.  A  photographic  firm 
offers  several  hundred  dollars  in  prizes 
for  the  best  photographs  taken  with  their 
camera.  A  food  manufacturer  wants  to 
know  of  new  receipts  for  his  standard 
line,  so  he  pays  liberally  for  such  sug- 
gestions. Another  food  concern  will  give 
an  attractive  present  for  a  certain  num- 
ber of  labels  taken  from  the  packages  of 

79 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

their  goods.  These  are  but  a  few  ex- 
amples of  what,  in  my  mind,  constitute 
enterprise. 

All  this  attracts  the  interest  of  the 
public  and  acts  as  a  direct  booster  for 
the  goods  thus  brought  into  prominence, 
but  just  because  you  can  obtain  the  atten- 
tion of  motion-picture  audiences  with 
little  effort,  that  is  no  reason  why  you 
should  let  ENTERPRISE  go  by  the 
board.  Your  constant  aim  should  be  to 
go  one  better  than  your  competitors  and, 
at  the  same  time,  arouse  the  most  slug- 
gard to  action.  There  is  a  certain  glamor 
about  an  article  being  offered  free  and 
money  to  be  had  for  a  little  effort,  and 
the  opportunity  to  strike  out  along  new 
lines  at  the  movie  theater  is  awaiting 
your  prompt  attention.  No  advertiser 
has  attempted  what  I  am  going  to  pro- 
pose. Neither  would  you  attempt  what 
you  have  done  before  through  the  press 
and  dealers  for  the  simple  fact  that  this 

80 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

new  publicity  medium  possesses  a  tech- 
nique of  its  own.  This,  you  can  see, 
necessitates  a  different  proposition  alto- 
gether. 

One  way  of  gauging  the  precise  lines 
you  should  pursue  is  by  keeping  track 
of  what  the  ordinary  motion-picture  pro- 
ducing concerns  are  doing.  This  is  why 
I  advise  frequent  visits  to  the  theaters, 
in  which  you  can  combine  pleasure  with 
business.  If  these  producers  have  ex- 
perienced the  fact  that  enterprise  pays, 
after  long  and  diligent  study  of  what  the 
fickle  public  wants,  it  only  goes  to  bear 
out  my  assertion  that  users  of  motion- 
picture  advertising  should  emulate  their 
example. 

It  also  carries  much  weight  in  estab- 
lishing friendly  relations  with  the  exhib- 
itor, for  the  average  one  is  no  great  lover 
of  advertising  films  unless  offered  a  fee, 
and  even  then  his  enthusiasm  is  of  the 
watery  kind.     But,  however,   if  offered 

6  81 


Advertising  by  Motion   Pictures 

a  photoplay  of  the  nature  which  forms 
the  basis  of  this  article,  gratis,  he  knows 
that  the  joint  boosting  of  him  and  the 
advertiser  is  a  sure  tonic  for  a  full  house. 
He,  therefore,  may  be  relied  upon  not  to 
let  the  chance  go  begging  and  have  it 
snapped  up  by  his  rival  a  few  blocks 
away. 

The  $10,000  offered  for  the  solving  of 
"The  Million  Dollar  Mystery"  film  serial 
caused  a  furore  throughout  the  country. 
Briefly,  the  plan  was  this:  Through  the 
installments,  each  getting  more  compli- 
cated than  its  predecessor,  a  million  dol- 
lars disappears,  and  the  thief  and  his 
hiding-place  can  not  be  located,  although 
spectators  are  led  to  suspect  certain  char- 
acters and  places.  The  mystery  is  only 
known  to  those  higher  up,  the  correct 
solution  capturing  the  big  money  prize. 
The  extra  installment,  which  was  put  out 
after  the  judging  was  finished,  informed 
competitors  whether  they  were  successful 

82 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

or  not.  Now,  cannot  you  detect  the  pos- 
sibilities of  the  idea?  Supposing  some- 
body hides  something  in  your  advertised 
goods  and  you  have  all  the  action  revolve 
around  that  situation. 

The  Universal  Company  recently  ex- 
perienced great  difficulty  in  selecting  an 
appropriate  name  for  a  certain  feature 
film  drama,  so  they  released  it  devoid  of 
a  title  and  launched  an  advertising  cam- 
paign announcing  their  intention  of  pay- 
ing $50  for  the  one  accepted. 

A  no  small  amount  of  enthusiasm  was 
created  by  the  Cines  Company  in  their 
plan  to  remunerate  the  best  scenario  with 
a  thousand  dollars,  with  several  smaller 
prizes  for  the  ones  next  best  in  merit. 
Almost  everybody  is  writing  photoplays 
nowadays,  and  it  would  be  a  dandy  idea 
if  you  were  to  launch  an  extensive  adver- 
tising campaign  linking  press,  dealer, 
film  and  exhibitor.  You  could  then  ofifer 
a    substantial    cash    prize    for    the    best 

83 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

photoplays  written  around  your  products. 
The  interest  can  be  sustained  when  the 
films  are  put  out,  by  inviting  criticisms 
with  the  bait  of  additional  prizes.  The 
latter  was  done  with  excellent  results  in 
the  Cines  contest. 


84 


XIV. 

BRINGING  OUT  THE  INDIVIDUALITY  OF 
DRY  GOODS  BY  MOTION  PICTURES 

The  motion  picture  is  the  ideal  chan- 
nel for  enterprising  dry-goods  manufac- 
turers who  want  to  bring  out  the  indi- 
viduality of  their  goods. 

Printed  matter,  no  matter  how  at- 
tractively gotten  up,  leaves  a  lot  to  be 
satisfied,  both  in  appeal  and  the  results. 
First  of  all,  you  have  got  to  get  your 
stuff  read  by  discriminating  buyers,  and 
that  is  no  easy  matter  in  these  days, 
when  the  mails  are  swamped  with  it. 
You  have  got  to  humor  those  skeptical 
folks  who  want  to  be  shown  that  your 
statements  are  correct.  They  have  been 
deceived  so  many  times  by  unscrupulous 
advertisers  that  even  the  honest  ones 
come   under    suspicion.      To   sum   it   up 

85 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

briefly,  motion-picture  advertising  is  a 
vehicle  for  pictorial  treatment.  Your 
reader  sees  the  thing  in  actual  reality, 
instead  of  pen  paintings  or  still  photo- 
graphs. 

Movie  audiences  have  come  to  regard 
films  as  next  to  life  itself,  and  no  fraud- 
ulent advertising  has  crept  in  on  the 
screen  to  shatter  their  illusion. 

You  interest  your  readers  with  little 
effort.  At  home  he  or  she  can  toss  your 
costly  literature  in  the  waste-basket  with- 
out even  giving  it  the  once  over.  Or, 
come  to  that,  if  it  is  a  magazine  or  news- 
paper ad.,  there  is  a  whole  mass  of 
matter  claiming  attention  at  the  same 
time.  Your  ad.,  therefore,  stands  pre- 
cious small  chance  of  gaining  attention. 
But  at  the  motion-picture  theater  the 
situation  is  entirely  different,  for  your 
audience  is  already  waiting  to  be  tackled. 
Their  attention  is  literally  glued  to  the 
screen.     No  matter  what  species  of  film 

86 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

you  adopt  to  get  over  your  arguments, 
then  the  spectators  will  give  it  the  self- 
same attention.  They  can  not  do  other- 
wise, since  only  one  thing  appears  on  the 
screen  at  the  same  time,  and  the  hall  is 
too  dark  for  them  to  do  anything  else. 
It  is  hardly  likely  that  they  will  vacate 
their  seats  if  they  have  not  seen  the  whole 
program.  So  the  results  depend  mainly 
on  how  your  appeal  is  presented. 

Becker,  Mayor  &  Company,  of  Chi- 
cago, preferred  to  do  theirs  with  the  aid 
of  a  film  carrying  the  interesting  title 
of  "The  Sheep  Industry."  It  opened 
with  scenes  of  sheep  grazing  on  Montana 
plains,  and  then  dealt  with  the  whole 
operation  of  making  clothes — in  their 
way,  of  course — from  the  time  the  sheep 
were  sheared  until  the  clothes  were  on 
the  back  of  the  customer.  It  was  a 
rather  intricate  subject,  but  it  was  put 
over  in  a  clear  and  entertaining  manner. 
The  selling  talk  that  came  to  the  surface 

87 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

out  of  the  mass  of  material  was  this: 
The  sanitary  conditions  under  which  the 
''Graduate"  coats  were  turned  out,  and 
the  several  hand  operations  which  ensure 
perfect-hanging  sleeves,  smooth  shoulders 
and  the  coat  keeping  its  shape;  hanging 
the  clothes  in  the  stockroom  as  a  pre- 
caution against  wrinkles.  Then  followed 
a  typical  retail  store  stocking  the  well- 
known  ''Graduate"  and  "Woolly  Boy" 
brands.  Their  arguments  that  their 
clothes  were  made  of  all  wool  and  hand- 
made assumed  a  deeper  meaning,  adding 
the  desired  convincing  touches. 

Perhaps  you  would  prefer  to  have 
your  statements  woven  into  a  comedy  or 
dramatic  photoplay,  and  so  avoid  the 
direct  advertising  element.  Well,  the 
Printzess  concern  had  one  produced  in 
three  reels,  taking  about  an  hour  to  show, 
but  incorporated  industrial  stuff  like  that 
mentioned. 

Personally  speaking,  I  should  advise 

38 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

the  advertiser  to  get  out  a  short  film  at 
regular  intervals,  about  a  reel  in  length. 
You  can  then  take  each  thing  separately 
and  release  a  film  at  intervals,  and  so 
maintain  the  interest.  You  wouldn't 
think  of  having  one  big  splash  at  press 
advertising  and  then  do  no  more,  would 
you?  The  same  principle  holds  good  in 
filmland.  There  is  nothing  that  gets  the 
goat  of  a  picture-goer  quicker  than  hav- 
ing to  see  the  same  film  more  than  once, 
and  it  should  have  the  run  the  ordinary 
films  are  given — one  day. 

Harken  back  to  the  Printzess  cam- 
paign, their  story  possessed  a  very  weak 
plot,  and  it  was  the  many  interesting 
incidents  that  made  the  picture  enter- 
taining. Reduced  to  the  bare  outlines, 
here  is  the  story:  A  society  leader  ac- 
cepts an  invitation  to  attend  an  informal 
ladies'  costume  pageant.  She  promptly 
gets  her  dressmaker  busy  on  new  gowns, 

for  her  wardrobe  did  not  fulfill  her  exact- 
so 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

ing  demands.  When  they  are  completed, 
however,  they  turn  out  misfits,  and  there 
is  no  time  for  alterations.  In  her  dilem- 
ma, she  conceives  the  idea,  suggested  by 
a  magazine  ad.,  of  buying  a  ready-made 
gown  at  the  nearest  department  store.  To 
her  delight,  she  obtains  a  stunning  dress 
that  fits  perfectly,  and  creates  a  sensation 
at  the  pageant.  She  is  declared  the  best 
gowned  woman,  a  gold  mesh-bag  being 
the  prize,  and  gains  the  title  of  "Her 
Royal  Highness  Miss  Printzess." 

When  the  Printzess  people  heard  of 
the  honor  paid  them,  they  invited  her  to 
inspect  their  plant  in  Cleveland,  Ohio. 
She  has  a  sister  in  the  town,  which  gives 
her  a  good  motive  for  making  the  trip. 
After  being  shown  over  the  works,  she  is 
full  of  admiration  for  the  workmanship 
of  Printzess  dresses.  Back  at  home,  she 
muses  over  fashions,  which  are  visualized 
by  beautiful  living  models,  attired  in 
gowns  shortly  to  be  introduced. 

90 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

Like  with  publications,  one  must,  of 
course,  discriminate  between  the  good 
and  the  bad.  What  Becker,  Mayor  & 
Company  did  was  to  arrange  matters 
with  their  string  of  retailers  and  loan 
each  the  film.  They  naturally  knew  the 
best  theater  suited  for  their  purpose,  and 
got  the  exhibitor  to  show  the  film  for  a 
small  fee  at  the  evening  show.  When 
each  was  through  with  it,  the  film  was 
despatched  to  the  retailer  in  the  next 
town,  until  the  whole  territory  was 
covered. 

If  you  want  to  do  this  everywhere  at 
the  same  time,  it  means  a  little  more  ex- 
pense in  having  copies  of  the  film  struck 
off.  Pictures  of  ladies'  underclothing  can 
hardly  be  shown  in  the  ordinary  way. 
The  Gossart  corset  concern  surmounted 
this  difficulty  by  showing  it  only  at  mati- 
nees, to  which  ladies  only  were  admitted. 
The  film  showed  the  corsets  being  fitted 
on  living  models. 

91 


XV. 

BOOSTING    CITIES    AND    PLEASURE    RE- 
SORTS   BY    MOTION   PICTURES 

The  first  aim  of  the  city  boosters  and 
Chambers  of  Commerce  is  to  get  the 
public  to  visit  their  communities.  How, 
then,  can  this  be  accompHshed?  The 
usual  way  is  by  distributing  attractive 
literature  setting  forth  everything  calcu- 
lated to  *'lure"  the  visitor,  but,  in  the 
majority  of  cases,  the  efforts  of  the  pub- 
licity man  fail  to  have  the  desired  effect 
"It  is  all  very  well  of  you  to  inform 
me  of  the  advantages  of  your  city  or 
pleasure  resort,"  the  man  in  the  street 
might  say,  *'but  how  on  earth  am  I  to 
know  whether  it  was  not  written  by  some- 
body with  a  tendency  to  exaggerate? 
Again,  I  have  to  picture  things  before 
my    eyes    from    cold    print.      Why    not, 

92 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

therefore,  have  this  done  for  me?" 
It  is  for  this  precise  purpose  that  the 
motion  picture  has  made  itself  conspicu- 
ous as  an  advertising  medium — one  differ- 
ing from  all  others. 

An  exemplification  of  what  can  be 
done  came  to  the  limelight  when  the 
Western  Michigan  Development  Bureau 
had  a  series  of  films,  comprising  three 
reels  altogether,  taken  to  boost  western 
and  northern  Michigan.  The  pricipal  fea- 
tures of  the  pictures  were  the  scenes  of 
such  prosperous  towns  as  Grand  Rapids, 
Muskegon,  Petoskey,  Cadillac,  Manistee, 
Frankfort  and  Charlevoix.  These  show 
the  industrial  buildings,  shipping  indus- 
try by  lake  and  rail,  public  parks,  com- 
mercial  and  residential  portions  and 
recreation  resorts.  Additionally,  the 
rapid  development  of  western  and  north- 
ern Michigan  was  covered,  as  also  were 
the  excellent  roads,  fertile  agricultural 
lands  recommended  to  prospective  home- 

93 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

steaders,  fruit  orchards,  and  the  various 
industries. 

Among  other  towns  to  employ  motion 
pictures  in  a  similar  way  may  be  men- 
tioned Pittsburgh  and  Santa  Barbara. 
The  latter  distinguished  itself  at  the  San 
Francisco  Exposition  by  arranging  a 
forty-minute  show  at  intervals  during 
the  day.  A  lecturer  heightened  the  inter- 
est in  the  films.  The  exhibit  covered  a 
floor  space  of  four  thousand  feet. 

The  St.  Louis  municipal  authorities 
made  use  of  a  motion  picture  several 
months  ago  to  educate  ignorant  foreign- 
ers and  their  offspring  to  know  the  main 
features  of  their  city  in  particular,  and 
America  in  general.  These  American 
citizens  in  the  making  are  now  able  to 
say  a  good  word  for  their  home  town 
when  called  upon.  The  film  was  exhib- 
ited free  in  suitable  places,  like  a  Catholic 
church,  police  station,  Jewish  synagogue 
and  a  public  school.    On  the  first  evening 

94 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

over  two  thousand  children,  of  Italian, 
German,  Greek,  Irish  and  Russian  par- 
ents, were  present,  along  with  their 
guardians.  The  picture  depicted  scenes 
of  St.  Louis,  New  York  Zoo  and 
American  industries. 

Because  America  can  learn  from 
England  is  my  reason  for  citing  the  case 
of  Blackpool,  which  is  the  Coney  Island 
of  Europe.  In  this  case  a  photoplay  was 
employed,  a  comedy  of  fifteen  hundred 
feet,  to  be  exact.  A  glance  at  the  synop- 
sis below  will  reveal  its  mirth-provoking 
possibilities.  I  was  not  able  to  see  the 
film,  so  present  the  version  gotten  out 
by  the  advertising  manager. 

The  plot  is  laid  by  August  and  Sep- 
tember, the  famous  clowns  of  the  Black- 
pool Tower  Circus,  inviting  their  old 
uncle  and  aunt  to  see  the  sights  of  Black- 
pool. 

The  scene  opens  at  Talbot  Road  Sta- 
tion, where  the  elderly  relatives  are  cor- 

95 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

dially  welcomed  and  escorted  to  the 
Promenade  and  Sands.  Donkey-riding, 
paddling  and  sea-bathing  are  indulged 
in,  and  the  party  then  visits  the  Central 
Pier,  where  the  delights  of  roller-skating 
and  open-air  dancing  are  enjoyed,  to  the 
accompaniment  of  many  ludicrous  and 
side-splitting  situations. 

Then  follows  the  tour  of  the  Pleasure 
Beach.  Here  we  see  aunt  and  uncle  the 
victims  of  many  thrilling,  exciting  and 
amusing  adventures — joy  rides  on  the 
Velvet  Coaster  and  Scenic  Railway,  a 
trip  on  the  Witching  Waves,  the  descent 
of  the  Water  Chute,  and  many  other  sim- 
ilar episodes,  lead  up  to  the  ascent  of  the 
famous  Blackpool  Tower,  which  may  be 
described  as  the  outstanding  feature  of 
the  film. 

Other  incidents  follow,  and  the  pic- 
ture finally  winds  up  with  a  screamingly 
funny  Golf  Tournament,  in  which  the 
whole  of  the  characters  take  part. 

96 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

It  is  the  custom  to  offer  exhibitors  a 
fee  for  showing  an  advertising  film,  but 
in  this  instance  the  picture  was  meritable 
enough  as  a  comedy  to  offer  a  theater  in 
each  town  the  exclusive  rights  for  a 
special  price.  The  example  of  "Fun  on 
the  Sands  at  Blackpool" — for  that  was 
the  attractive  title — may  be  followed 
when  you  wish  to  boost  some  rural  or 
seaside  retreat. 

Another  point  in  favor  of  motion-pic- 
ture advertising  is  that,  if  done  on  the 
right  lines,  a  film  does  not  appear  to  be 
an  ad.  Motion-picture  fans — and  there 
are  twenty  million  of  them  in  this  coun- 
try— have  become  so  accustomed  to  see- 
ing scenics  and  educationals  that  they 
would  not  realize  the  true  object  of  city 
boosters  and  Chambers  of  Commerce. 
This  is  a  considerable  advantage,  for 
folks  are  likely  to  evince  more  interest 
in  a  picture. 


97 


^^:^ 


CJt^'ii/i^U,^^ 


XVI. 

ADVERTISING    RAILROADS    BY    THE 
MOVIES 

For  railroad  companies,  the  ideal  ad- 
vertising medium  is  the  motion  picture. 
It  has  something  to  offer  which  can  not 
be  done  justice  to  by  any  other  publicity 
vehicle.  How  true  this  is  was  brought 
home  to  me  the  other  day  while  traveling 
on  one  of  the  elevated  lines  in  Brooklyn. 
Sitting  next  to  me  in  the  car  were  two 
young  men  engaged  in  conversation,  and 
I  could  not  help  but  overhear  what  they 
said  to  each  other. 

"I  have  been  trying  to  decide  on  a 
place  for  a  vacation  this  summer,  but  I 
have  simply  grown  tired  of  poring  over 
advertising  literature." 

"Yes,"  assented  his  companion,  "it 
leaves  so  much  to  the  imagination." 

98 


Advertising  by   Motion    Pictures 

Here,  then,  is  the  crux  of  the  situa- 
tion— printed  matter  of  all  descriptions 
appeals  to  the  brain,  whereas  the  nature 
of  your  business  demands  that  the  men- 
tal strain  be  non-existent.  Folks  are 
more  than  likely  to  throw  your  expensive 
literature  away  unused  when  you  expect 
them  to  use  their  brains  to  imagine 
things.  With  motion  pictures  you  don't 
have  to — everything  is  taken  in  by  the 
eyes. 

You  have  got  to  show  them.  And 
how?  Well,  do  not  motion  pictures  fill 
the  breach  admirably?  Be  honest  with 
yourself.  Is  there  any  other  medium  in 
existence  by  which  you  can  bring  the 
actual  things  before  the  gaze  of  a  skep- 
tical public?  I  will  admit,  though,  that 
there  are  still  photographs  and  lantern 
slides,  but  these  only  permit  snaps  here 
and  there.  On  the  film,  however,  you 
can  cover  the  whole  place  at  one  sweep, 
so  to  speak.     This  is  no  idle  boast.     It 

99 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

has  been  accomplished.     Let  us,  to  begin 

^.^  with,  take  the  prospect  of  boosting  your 

\      line  for  vacations.    The  Northern  Pacif- 

J     ic  Railway  Company  did  theirs  by  having 

^      a   film   made   depicting   the   beauties   of 

I       their  line  and  Yellowstone  Park,  recom- 

l      mending  the  latter  as  the  ultimate  desti- 

^^-nation  of  the  tourist. 

The  results,  I  am  glad  to  say,  were 
highly  satisfactory. 

Although  it  is  unusual,   much  more 
has  been  done  in  this  particular  direction 
•        in  Britain  than  at  home. 

The  Great  Western  Railway  Com- 
pany established  its  individuality  by 
proving  that  it  is  "The  Holiday  Line," 
for  their  picture  showing  the  beauties  of 
the  west  of  England,  Wales  and  Ireland 
leaves  a  hankering  to  travel  by  the  route 
covered  by  them,  if  only  to  pass  by  the 
most  charming  portions  of  the  British 
Isles.  The  film  was  hired  out  free  to 
numerous     movie     theaters     throughout 

100 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

— i  i  «M  ^ ', 

Britain,  and  the  atmosphere  of  the  pic-r. 
ture  was  further  enhanced  by  th^  orctieS^  * 
tra  playing  old  English  airs. 

The  Great  Northern  Railway  Com- 
pany conceived  a  different  idea  in  circu- 
larizing their  three-reel  travel  film  of 
the  Scottish  Highlands.  A  descriptive 
lecture  was  prepared  in  connection  with 
this,  and  any  lecturer,  educational  insti- 
tution or  theater  requiring  the  use  of 
both  could  hire  them  free. 

The  best  way  to  lessen  the  ex- 
pense and  at  the  same  time  work  to  the 
mutual  alvantage  is  by  arranging  with 
chambers  of  commerce,  etc.,  who  wish 
their  pleasure  resorts  to  develop.  Con- 
siderable success  has  attended  the  efforts 
along  these  lines   in   England. 

Southport,  a  northern  seaside  resort, 
IS  a  case  in  point.  Previous  to  putting 
out  a  motion  picture  showing  its  advan- 
tages as  a  winter  resort,  there  were  very 
few  visitors  in  the  dull  winter  months. 

101 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

!  ,  ,.  ,  ^^/fhe  nine  copies  of  this  film,  however, 
:'\  y\  '.^  ':  were  loaned  to  the  various  railway  com- 
panies running  excursions  to  Southport, 
who  in  turn  arranged  for  the  showing 
.  of  the  film  in  connection  with  their  ad- 
vertising campaign  at  the  picture  theaters 
in  their  territory.  The  outcome  was  that 
the  enterprising  town  reaped  a  harvest  of 
winter  holiday-makers,  who  were  trans- 
ported by  the  railroads. 

The  motion  picture  is  also  invaluable 
in  developing  towns  and  various  little- 
exploited  territories,  with,  of  course, 
special  emphasis  on  the  fact  that  yours 
is  the  best  line  to  travel  by.  The  South- 
ern Railroad  Company  had  a  film  pro- 
duced along  their  line  in  South  Carolina 
in  order  to  bring  out  the  possibilities  of 
farm,  city  and  industrial  life  in  that 
State.  The  film  was  exhibited  in  the 
North  and  Middle  West. 

Nor  is  this  an  isolated  case,  for  the 
Great    Northern    Railway    and    Oregon 

102 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

Trunk  Company  joined  forces  in  order 
to  record  the  development  of  central 
Oregon  on  a  motion  picture.  The  most 
convincing  portions  of  same  were  those 
of  the  great  Blitzen  Canal  which  will 
open  up  one  hundred  thousand  acres  of 
land,  homesteaders  arriving,  a  big  cattle 
round-up,  and  vast  picturesque  stretches 
of  land  which  are  ripe  for  settlement. 

You  can  also  call  attention  to  the 
precautions  taken  to  ensure  safety  travel- 
ing. The  Rock  Island  Railroad  film 
dealt  with  some  of  the  e very-day  danger- 
ous experiences  of  their  employees,  be- 
sides pointing  out  the  right  and  the 
wrong  way  of  doing  each  thing.  These 
pictures  served  a  twofold  purpose.  In 
the  first  place,  regular  demonstrations 
were  given  to  the  other  trainmen,  so  that 
they  can  guard  against  the  dangers  that 
attend  their  work.  This,  in  turn,  re- 
bounds on  the  passengers,  who  are 
ensured  being  reasonably  safe  from  any 

103 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

accidents  occurring.  The  public  were  also 
invited  to  view  the  film,  which  could  not 
fail  to  leave  a  favorable  impression. 
Societies,  schools  and  theaters  were  also 
at  liberty  to  show  it. 


104 


XVII. 

GETTING  OVER  THE  PURENESS  OF 
YOUR  FOOD  PRODUCTS  BY  A  FILM 

The  motion  picture  stands  in  need  of 
a  nickname.  The  one  most  appropriate 
would  be,  "Conveyor  of  things  as  they 
are."  Not  only  are  audiences  regaled  on 
a  feast  of  comedy  and  drama,  but  the  aid 
of  the  screen  is  often  sought  to  educate 
them  in  reforms  of  various  kinds. 

And  this  is  where  the  food  manufac- 
turer can  hitch  the  movies  to  his  next 
campaign.  Let  me  tell  you  this  much — 
the  screen  is  no  ordinary  publicity 
medium.  It  possesses  a  pleasing  indi- 
viduality of  its  own.  This  is  the  art  of 
vision.  You  don't  let  your  pen  loose  and 
turn  out  printed  matter  that  but  half 
satisfies.  In  these  days  of  food  adulter- 
ating, the  alert  housewife  wants  to  be 

105 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

shown,  so  the  case  of  the  man  from 
Missouri  is  not  an  isolated  one.  The 
film  accomplishes  more  than  printers' 
ink,  and  allows  you  to  take  people 
through  your  plant,  which  it  is  often  not 
convenient  to  do  in  person. 

Before  we  proceed  further,  I  want  to 
call  your  attention  to  a  two-reel  drama 
which  was  recently  put  on  public  exhi- 
bition. It  is  a  lecture  in  celluloid,  and 
was  produced  by  the  Kalen  Company,  in 
collaboration  with  Professor  Lewis  B. 
Allyn,  who  has  achieved  fame  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Pure  Food  movement.  He 
also  acts  in  this  gripping  screen  drama. 
The  Ladies'  World  ran  the  fiction  version. 

The  story  opens  with  Jack,  the  son 
of  a  canned-food  manufacturer,  entering 
his  father's  business.  Jack  is  thoroughly 
disgusted  with  the  plant,  for  dirt  is  al- 
lowed to  accumulate  and  the  employees 
are  sweated.  Some  are  so  ill  that  their 
infections  are  liable  to  be  transferred  to 

106 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

the  consumer.  One  of  the  employees 
dies  of  ptomaines  as  the  result  of  con- 
suming the  canned  goods,  and  Jack  is 
urged  to  reform  the  existing  state  of 
affairs.  To  this  end  he  receives  instruc- 
tions from  Professor  Allyn,  but  Jack's 
father  will  not  listen  to  effecting  a  re- 
form, for  wealth  comes  first.  The  manu- 
facturer then  tries  to  bribe  the  Professor 
to  place  his  goods  upon  the  Westfield 
Pure  Food  List,  but  the  Professor  will 
only  agree  when  he  makes  the  needed 
alterations. 

It  happens  that  Jack  is  in  love  with 
the  daughter  of  another  food  manufac- 
turer, and  Jack's  father  visits  the  plant. 
The  cleanliness  and  the  quality  of  the 
raw  materials  impress  him  greatly. 

His  little  daughter  steals  a  jar  of 
his  fruit  jelly  from  the  closet  and  is 
taken  seriously  ill.  Then  he  learns  that 
his  factory  is  on  fire,  and  we  leave  him 
vowing  to  build  a  factory  which  shall  be 

107 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

sanitary,  the  material  of  the  best,  while 
the  health  of  the  employees  will  be  cared 
for. 

At  the  lowest  estimate,  this  was  seen 
by  five  million  out  of  the  total  twenty 
million  movie  fans  in  this  country,  be- 
sides being  read  by  two  million  or  more 
Ladies'  World  readers.  The  film  is 
sure  to  make  the  public  more  discrimi- 
nating than  ever.  Here,  then,  is  the  ripe 
opportunity  to  gain  their  patronage  by 
following  it  up  with  an  effective  adver- 
tising film. 

This  is  not  mere  theory,  for  the  Pos- 
tum  Cereal  Company  recently  had  a 
motion  picture  taken  at  their  Battle  Creek 
factory  depicting  the  making  of  Post 
Toasties,  Grape  Nuts  and  Instant  Pos- 
tum.  The  healthy  conditions  under  which 
they  are  made  were  well  brought  out. 
Human  interest — which  fans  are  so  par- 
tial to — was  added  by  introducing  several 
bunches  of  happy  children  enjoying  the 

108 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

products  heartily.  An  exhibitor  was 
selected  in  each  town  to  show  the  film 
for  a  small  consideration,  the  campaign 
proving  very  successful. 

Cadbury  Brothers,  an  English  firm 
renowned  for  their  cocoa  and  chocolate, 
got  out  a  very  interesting  film  to  boost 
their  cocoa.  It  showed  their  cocoa  plan- 
tation in  Trinidad,  the  natives  gathering 
the  pods,  and  various  other  stages  until 
the  cocoa  reached  the  consumer.  Their 
other  film  went  further,  with  special  em- 
phasis on  Bourneville,  their  garden  city. 
The  most  valuable  points  presented  were 
these:  The  picturesque  surroundings  of 
Bourneville  works,  storing  raw  cocoa, 
daily  arrival  of  new  milk  for  milk  choco- 
late, men's  recreation-ground,  a  walk 
round  the  plant,  showing  the  airy  work- 
rooms and  open  windows,  the  factory  fire 
brigade  at  drill,  open-air  baths  for  boys 
and  girls  where  they  swim  during  work- 
ing-hours, girls'  physical  drill,  preparing 

109 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

creams  ready  for  covering  with  choco- 
late, covering  chocolate  creams  and  deco- 
rating chocolates.  All  this  tended  to 
favorably  impress  the  millions  who  wit- 
nessed the  film.  As  it  also  had  educa- 
tional qualities,  it  was  offered  to  exhib- 
itors free,  over  three  hundred  theaters 
taking  advantage  of  the  offer.  It  is 
usual  to  pay  exhibitors  a  fee  for  this 
privilege,  but  when  the  advertising  ele- 
ment does  not  unnecessarily  obtrude,  it 
can  be  put  out  on  its  own  merits. 

The  manufacturers  of  an  English 
beef-tea  preparation  called  "Oxo"  sent  an 
operator  to  their  ranch  in  the  Argentine. 
He  filmed  a  reel  of  entertaining  stuff 
which  was  put  out  under  the  title  of 
"Life  on  the  Oxo  Cattle  Farms."  The 
firm  was  also  wise  in  only  mentioning 
the  name  of  their  product  once. 

In  this  instance  movie  exhibitors 
could  hire  the  film  free,  and  the  adver- 
tisement in  the  trade  papers  had  not  been 

110 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

a  day  old  before  two  hundred  bookings 
resulted.  What  made  the  offer  so  at- 
tractive was  to  insert  free  advertising  in 
the  local  newspapers  announcing  where 
the  film  could  be  seen.  Dealers,  too,  were 
put  in  a  good  frame  of  mind,  for  at  the 
bottom  of  the  ad.  appeared  the  names  of 
those  stocking  Oxo  locally.  Exhibitors 
were  also  invited  to  write  to  the  local 
schools  and  get  the  pupils  to  attend  a 
special  matinee  as  their  guests,  for  an 
appeal  to  the  children  is  worth  something. 

Motion-picture  audiences  go  to  see 
interesting  stories,  and  it  stands  to  rea- 
son, therefore,  that  they  would  better 
appreciate  your  ad.  got  over  in  this  way 
than  by  any  other  method. 

The  plot  written  around  the  Hecker 
Mills  introduces  us  to  the  harvesting  of 
the  grain,  and  in  the  mills  the  various 
processes  come  in  for  due  attention.  Ad- 
ditional   interest    is    imparted    to    "The 

Chef's  Redemption" — for  that  is  its  allur- 
111 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

ing  title — by  showing  how  useful  the 
Hecker  flour  is  in  making  various  kinds 
of  bread  popular  in  foreign  countries. 
The  ideal  conditions  prevailing  in  the 
plant  carried  conviction. 

There  now  exist  several  firms  who 
specialize  in  motion-picture  publicity,  so 
the  advertiser  need  have  no  fear  of 
inexperience  holding  him  back.  The  old 
adage,  "Do  it  now,"  applies  in  this  case. 


Jil2 


XVIII. 

SELLING  AUTOMOBILES  AND  ACCES- 
SORIES BY  MOTION  PICTURES 

It  is  not  every  day  that  a  new  and 
reliable  advertising  medium  is  unearthed, 
and  it  was  decidedly  a  good  day's  work 
when  the  selling  powers  of  motion-pic- 
ture publicity  became  known. 

You  appeal  to  the  public  at  their  lei- 
sure and  there  is  no  competition  to  fear, 
as  exhibitors  will  not  show  more  than 
one  ad.  film  on  a  single  program.  You 
also  enjoy  a  monopoly  of  the  audience's 
attention,  for  folks  can  only  see  one 
thing  at  a  time  in  the  darkened  hall. 
The  photoplay  used  to  attract  the  poorer 
classes,  but  now  the  theaters  have  divided 
up  into  grades,  and  the  well-to-do  and 
middle  classes  are  quite  as  enthusiastic 
patrons. 

8  113 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

The  manufacturer  of  automobiles  and 
accessories  can  take  up  motion-picture 
advertising  v^ith  every  confidence  that  it 
is  going  to  prove  a  good  business  pro- 
ducer. Naturally  the  latter  depends  on 
the  efficiency  of  the  campaign,  for,  like 
in  everything  else,  system  has  to  be 
applied. 

It  saves  the  trouble  and  expense  of 
having  to  give  numerous  tests  in  order 
to  prove  your  claims,  and  as  the  film 
records  them  once  and  for  all,  you  are 
avoided  any  annoying  hitches  in  demon- 
strations. The  ideal  film  for  advertising 
is  that  which  carries  the  vague  definition 
of  industrial.  The  Reo  Motor  Car  Com- 
pany had  such  a  one  taken,  and  made  it 
serve  three  useful  purposes  instead  of 
one.  The  picture  depicted  conditions  in 
their  plant  and  how  the  autos  were  manu- 
factured. In  the  office  building  they  pos- 
sess a  private  motion-picture  theater  in 
which  the  film  is  regularly  exhibited  to 

114 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

the  employees,  especially  the  salesmen,  to 
keep  them  efficient.  The  result  is  that 
they  are  able  to  discourse  with  the  com- 
pletes t  knowledge  of  the  goods  they  have 
to  sell  and  enable  them  to  land  a  sale 
easier.  The  film  also  comes  in  handy  for 
sales  demonstration  purposes,  while,  with 
alterations,  it  is  made  suitable  for  show- 
ing before  the  general  public  to  rope  in 
prospective  auto  enthusiasts.  ^^ 

A  noteworthy  film  gotten  out  by  the 
Ford  concern  showed  an  automobile  be- 
ing erected  in  two  and  a  half  minutes, 
when  it  was  speeded  off  on  its  own 
power.  Henry  Ford  also  recently  devised 
an  interesting  plan  which  combined  news 
with  advertising.  Each  week  he  arranges 
to  have  the  important  events  in  Detroit 
filmed  and  offers  the  picture  to  exhibitors 
throughout  Michigan.  In  Detroit  alone 
fifty  theaters  show  the  picture.  Henry 
Ford  not  only  gets  himself  known  as  a 
booster  of  his  home  town,  but  in  addi- 

115 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

tion,  avails  himself  of  the  weekly  oppor- 
tunity to  boost  his  cars. 

The  Pierce  Arrow  Company  had  a 
film  produced  setting  forth  in  a  convinc- 
ing manner  the  powers  and  capabilities 
of  their  autos.  You  cannot  demonstrate 
a  motor  truck  on  any  street,  and  this  is 
where  the  film  triumphs. 

The  Straker  Squire  Company,  an 
English  firm,  not  so  long  ago  introduced, 
within  the  compass  of  a  single  film,  the 
making  of  the  various  parts  of  a  modern 
automobile,  erecting  a  car  in  sixty  sec- 
onds, trying  it  out  on  rough  roads,  work 
tracks  and  on  timber  support.  Then  came 
a  hill-climbing  test  and  racing  cars  speed- 
ing at  ninety-eight  miles  per  hour. 
Lastly,  the  980  employees  were  seen  leav- 
ing the  works. 

The  reel  depicting  the  Diamler  Motor 
Works  at  Coventry,  England,  was  dis- 
tributed in  a  different  manner.  The  film 
was  on  show  at  a  recent  London  auto 

116 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

exposition  and  caused  a  hit  because  it 
was  an  interesting  novelty.  This  plan 
could  also  be  allied  in  connection  with 
future  auto  expositions  held  at  the  Grand 
Central  Palace,  New  York,  by  enterpris- 
ing firms. 

And  if  you  want  to  boost  your  tires, 
here  follow  some  successful  methods. 

The  De  Laski  and  Thropp  Circular 
Woven  Tire  Company  put  out  a  film 
dealing  with  their  methods  of  manufac- 
turing tires.  It  revealed  also  that  it  only 
takes  five  minutes  to  complete  one.  This 
film  was  used  in  connection  with  their 
campaign  for  capturing  business  in  for- 
eign countries. 

In  the  fifty  motoring  centers  in 
Britain,  the  Goodrich  Compeny  has  been 
conducting  film  lectures  extending  over  a 
year.  The  film  was  entitled  "From  Tire 
to  Tire,"  and  in  an  entertaining  way 
motorists  were  educated  from  the  time 
the  rubber  was  gathered  from  the  tree 

117 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

until  the  tire  was  on  the  auto.  In  the 
course  of  the  lectures,  which  were  at- 
tended by  large  audiences,  much  practical 
information  was  imparted  on  the  use 
and  care  of  tires. 

A  story  within  a  story.  Did  you  ever 
think  it  was  possible?  If  you  want  to 
approach  an  audience  by  means  of  enter- 
tainment instead  of  education,  then  it 
can  be  done.  A  trained  scenario  writer 
is  capable  of  weaving  your  advertising 
story  into  a  comedy  or  dramatic  plot.  It 
has  been  accomplished,  as  witness  the 
''silent  representative"  of  a  Birmingham 
concern  manufacturing  a  patent  dual  rim 
for  motor  cars.  The  plot  concerned  a 
gang  of  thieves  who  robbed  a  bank  mes- 
senger of  $25,000.  While  fleeing  in  an 
auto  they  are  held  up  by  the  police,  but 
escape  after  a  struggle.  The  police  then 
chase  them  in  an  auto.  The  crooks, 
however,  come  to  a  halt  through  one  of 
their  tires  being  punctured,  and  the  police 

118 


Advertising   by    Motion    Pictures 

meet  with  the  same  misfortune.  It  so 
happens  that  the  latter's  car  is  equipped 
with  the  Patent  Quick  Change  Dual  Rim, 
by  which  they  complete  the  repairs  before 
the  thieves  are  half  through  with  theirs. 
This  allows  them  to  capture  the  thieves 
with  ease. 

If  you  intend  working  the  campaign 
in  conjunction  with  your  dealers,  it  is 
best  to  get  up  a  list  of  them  in  order  of 
territory  and  arrange  for  each  to  retain 
the  film  for  a  day.  They  then  persuade, 
for  a  small  consideration,  the  best-class 
theater  in  the  town  to  show  the  film  at 
the  evening  performances,  after  which  it 
is  despatched  to  the  dealer  in  the  next 
nearest  town. 


119 


XIX. 

CLINCHING  AGRICULTURAL  MACHINERY 
SALES  BY  MOTION  PICTURES 

The  manufacturer  of  heavy  agricul- 
tural machinery  and  merchandise  of  an 
intricate  nature  is  placed  considerably  at 
a  disadvantage,  yet,  by  enlisting  the  aid 
of  the  versatile  motion  picture,  he  can 
greatly  improve  his  selling  tactics. 

The  idea  of  the  salesman  being  bur- 
dened v^ith  such  cumbersome  things  is, 
naturally,  not  to  be  thought  of,  so  his 
abilities  are  confined  to  selling  talk,  aided 
by  the  literature  of  the  publicity  man. 
However  convincingly  these  may  be  pre- 
sented, the  one  clinching  argument  is 
conspicuous  by  its  absence. 

Almost  every  prospective  customer, 
like  the  man  from  Missouri,  v^ants  to  be 
shown,  and  when  his  desire  can  not  easily 

120 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

be  gratified,  his  business  is  often  lost  It 
is  usual  in  these  cases  for  a  firm  to  pay 
his  traveling  expenses  to  visit  the  plant, 
but  if  this  is  done,  very  frequently  it  is 
a  mighty  expensive  way  and  takes  the 
profit  off  the  deal.  The  buyer,  on  the 
other  hand,  may  not  be  able  to  spare  the 
time  for  the  trip. 

But  with  a  film,  all  doubt  on  the  sub- 
ject is  scattered  to  the  wind.  The  sales- 
man carries  a  miniature  projection  ma- 
chine, which  is  quite  inexpensive,  in  a 
natty  case.  And  when  he  wishes  to  de- 
monstrate before  the  farmer,  the  blinds 
in  a  room  are  pulled  down  and  a  socket 
fixed  to  the  electric  light;  if  this  is  not 
available,  he  uses  acetylene.  A  table- 
cloth is  borrowed  and  tacked  to  the  wall. 
He  then  turns  the  handle,  and  as  the 
possibilities  of  the  machine  are  unfolded 
on  the  screen,  the  salesman  explains 
thoroughly  all  the  difficult  points.  All 
the  time  the  farmer  is  comfortably  seated 

121 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

in  a  chair  and  is   favorably  impressed. 

One  firm  I  know  went  one  better  with 
the  producing  of  their  film.  They  ar- 
ranged to  have  it  taken  on  a  farm  where 
one  of  their  machines  was  at  work,  and 
filmed  the  laborers  using  the  implement 
in  actual  practice. 

Both  the  Holt  Caterpillar  Company 
and  the  M.  Rumely  Company  have  suc- 
cessfully employed  the  motion  picture  to 
set  forth  the  merits  of  their  farm 
machinery. 

Another  effective  plan  has  been  to 
arrange  a  special  show  with  the  local 
movie  exhibitor  when  the  farmers  come 
to  town.  Each  farmer  in  the  neighbor- 
hood was  sent  invitations,  inviting  him- 
self, wife  and  children  to  attend  an  exhi- 
bition of  select  photoplays  free.  They 
were  entertained  with  several  dramas 
and  comedies,  but  the  star  turn  was  the 
advertising  film  of  the  enterprising  firm. 
This  sank  in  to  the  right  audience  in  a 

122 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

receptive  mood.  The  exhibition  of  the 
picture  to  a  number  of  the  farmers  at 
the  same  time  saved  much  of  the  sales- 
man's time  and  trouble,  and  clinched  a 
whole  lot  more  business  in  the  bargain. 
There  are  times  when  certain  experi- 
ments have  to  be  made  with  intricate 
articles.  The  dynamite  made  by  the  Du 
Pont  Company,  who  advocated  the  use 
of  same  to  farmers,  is  a  case  in  point. 
Tests  were  given  in  stump  blasting,  deep 
plowing,  tree  planting,  ditching,  etc.,  and 
effectively  shown  to  farmers  at  institutes, 
land  shows,  State  and  county  fairs,  and 
on  other  suitable  occasions.  In  all,  over 
one  hundred  copies  of  the  same  film  were 
shown  at  the  same  time  in  rural  commu- 
nities throughout  the  country.  And  what 
is  more  in  favor  of  the  method  is  that 
the  demonstrations  were  given  on  winter 
evenings,  when  the  farmer  had  his  liberty 
and  no  outdoor  tests  could  be  held,  owing 
to  the  average  weather  conditions.     Nor 

123 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

must  it  be  overlooked  that  the  extra  ex- 
pense of  this  form  of  pubUcity  was  got- 
ten back  in  the  saving  of  the  dynamite 
which  would  have  been  necessary  in  each 
actual  test.  There  was  also  no  fear  of 
failure. 

At  those  times  when  the  farmers  at- 
tend important  functions  on  business  bent 
it  is  customary  to  erect  machinery  and 
rent  a  large  amount  of  space  for  same. 
The  demonstrations  are  cramped  and 
can  never  be  so  thorough  in  scope  as  were 
a  special  cinema  show  to  be  erected  and 
demonstrations  given  at  stated  intervals 
by  means  of  a  film.  This  would  be  a 
good  investment,  which  I  can  vouch  for 
by  the  success  that  has  attended  the  plan 
at  various  expositions  held  at  the  Grand 
Central  Palace,  New  York. 

On  first  thoughts,  the  idea  of  erect- 
ing a  private  motion-picture  theater  in 
your  office  building  may  appeal  to  you  as 
an  unnecessary  expense,  but  an  agricul- 

124 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

tural  machinery  concern  in  Hull,  Eng- 
land, has  such  a  place  in  which  to  show 
its  implements  to  prospective  purchasers. 
On  the  whole,  it  is  rather  a  bore  and  un- 
pleasant having  to  take  the  prospect 
through  your  plant,  and  everything  is  in 
favor  of  the  short-cut  method.  Perhaps 
a  prospective  client  will  request  even  to 
be  shown  the  machinery  in  actual  use, 
and  a  lot  of  inconvenience  is  saved  in  not 
having  to  trouble  already  satisfied  cus- 
tomers. This  is  only  of  importance  when 
the  film  is  produced,  after  which  it  is 
good  for  all  time. 


125 


XX. 

HOW  PUBLISHERS  CAN  CAPTURE  BUSI- 
NESS FROM  THE  EVER-ENCROACH- 
ING FILM  PRODUCER 

It  has  been  asserted  by  some  that  the 
movies  are  a  new  menace  to  the  pub- 
lisher. While  not  denying  the  truthful- 
ness of  the  statement,  I  can  not  pass  by 
without  remarking  that  the  publisher  is 
to  blame  for  such  a  deplorable  state  of 
affairs  coming  to  pass. 

The  motion  picture  has  created  a 
demand  for  clean-cut  stories,  without  a 
particle  of  padding.  Yet  there  are  pub- 
lishers who  have  continued  to  turn  out 
fiction  of  all  kinds  with  frightfully  slim 
plots.  In  the  motion-picture  play,  the 
story  is  the  thing.  Sometimes  one  of 
these  compressed  plots  that  the  average 
author   would   weave   into   a   good-sized 

126 


Advertising   by    Motion    Pictures 

novel  can  be  unfolded  on  the  screen  in 
eighteen  minutes. 

The  longest  novel — from  a  plot  stand- 
point— when  converted  into  a  photoplay, 
would  not,  at  the  most,  provide  more 
than  two  hours'  entertainment.  As  a 
rule,  they  run  to  an  hour  or  so,  while 
those  that  rely,  to  a  great  extent,  upon  de- 
scription rather  than  plot,  and  are  also 
deficient  in  plot  qualities,  could  not  be 
put  on  at  all. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  person  who 
has  reaped  most  of  gold  for  this  fiction 
adaptation  mania  is  the  author.  Now, 
why  shouldn't  the  publisher  likewise  ben- 
efit? Well,  he  can,  if  he  gets  into  action 
right  now. 

Down  to  date,  the  greater  part  of  the 
adapted  fiction — short  stories  and  serials 
— has  not  been  filmed  until  after  publi- 
cation, when,  of  course,  it  would  not 
increase  the  sales  one  little  bit.  If  all 
are  to  profit,  united  co-operation  is  nec- 

127 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

essary.  When  a  piece  of  fiction — no 
matter  whether  it  be  a  short  story,  a 
serial  or  a  novel — appears,  an  endeavor 
should  be  made  to  arrange  with  a  film 
concern  that  the  photoplay  should  appear 
simultaneously  with  it  in  fiction  form. 
Tagged  on  to  the  end  of  the  film — or 
both  beginning  and  end  for  preference — r 
should  be  a  notice  announcing  where  the 
printed  story  can  be  seen.  This  publicity 
the  publisher  will  reciprocate  by  inform- 
ing the  readers  of  his  publication  that 
they  can  see  the  photoplay  version  at  the 
movie  theaters,  and  so  forth. 

The  millions  that  visit  the  moving-pic- 
ture shows  daily  have  come  to  regard 
their  favorite  amusement  as  a  "Guide  to 
Literature."  They  prefer  to  see  it  on 
the  film  first,  because  it  is  the  quickest 
and  easiest  way  to  arrive  at  a  decision. 
It  is  also  the  truest  test. 

Since  the  movie  manufacturers  have 
made  good  with  the  speeding-uo  process 

128 


Advertising   by    Motion    Pictures 

in  stories,  so  must  the  offending  pub- 
lishers follow  suit  if  they  do  not  wish  to 
be  put  out  of  business. 

When  a  film  form  of  a  well-known 
copyright-expired  work  has  been  exhib- 
ited, a  run  on  the  cheap  editions  has 
occurred,  while  in  many  cases  the  book- 
dealer  has  been  totally  unprepared  for 
the  demand.  The  publishers  should  keep 
a  weather  eye  on  the  different  releases 
week  by  week  and  watch  out  for  oppor- 
tunities. 

Fresh  developments  have  resulted  in 
more  business  slipping  out  of  his  hands. 
The  latest  move  of  the  film  producer  is  to 
produce  an  original  serial  play,  have  the 
scenario  author  write  it  up  in  book  shape, 
add  some  photographs  from  the  film,  to- 
gether with  a  signed  one  of  the  leading 
actor.  The  first  attempt  along  these 
lines  has  been  distributed  among  the  pic- 
ture shows  in  lots  of  twenty-five  or  more 
at  15  cents  per  copy.    The  first  edition  of 

f  129 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

fifty  thousand  copies  sold  like  hot  cakes, 
so  to  speak,  and  the  second  edition  sold 
well. 

Why,  I  maintain,  should  not  the  pub- 
lisher have  the  business  that  is  legiti- 
mately his?  There  is  little  chance  of 
co-operating  v^ith  the  ordinary  one-  and 
tv^o-reel  photoplay,  as  the  fiction  rights 
of  these  are  given  to  the  motion  picture 
magazines,  whose  staffmen  write  them 
up.  There  are,  however,  opportunities 
for  the  publishers  to  handle  the  big 
feature  photodramas,  as  well  as  the 
linked  series  and  serials.  It  is  a  paying 
proposition  for  all  concerned  if  operated 
on  the  right  lines, 


130 


XXI. 

ADVERTISING   YOUR   NEWSPAPER  WITH 
A   MOTION   PICTURE 

Enterprise  is  a  restless  thing.  Once 
let  it  remain  still  and  all  the  good  work 
is  undone.  This  fact  is  brought  more 
closely  home  in  the  case  of  a  newspaper, 
for  enterprise  does  so  much  to  hold  a 
reader.  One  stunt  is  soon  forgotten,  and 
it  is  therefore  imperative  to  keep  the  ball 
a-rolling. 

You,  as  a  newspaper  man,  know  the 
huge  following  the  motion  picture  has, 
and  if  you  are  a  small- town  member  of 
the  fourth  estate  I  want  your  attention 
right  now.  Mr.  Big  City,  your  turn  will 
come  next. 

Several  small-town  newspapers  have 
tried  out  the  following  plan  successfully. 
A  prize,  usually  $25,  is  offered  for  the 

131 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

best  one-reel  scenario,  comedy  or  dra- 
matic, as  you  may  choose,  only  it  must 
possess  a  plot  which  can  be  effectively 
taken  amid  familiar  local  surroundings. 
Usually  the  editor,  dramatic  critic  and 
the  movie  director  act  as  the  judges. 

This  is  follov^ed  by  a  voting  contest 
for  the  selection  of  the  most  beautiful 
young  v^oman  and  handsomest  young 
man  in  tow^n  to  play  the  heroine  and 
hero,  respectively.  A  prize  of,  say,  $25 
each,  should  be  offered. 

Nominations  are  best  made  by  cou- 
pon, accompanied  by  a  photograph.  The 
judges  can  weed  out  the  hopeless  ones 
and  print  the  photographs  of  the  good- 
looking  ones  in  the  newspapers,  as  well 
as  having  them  thrown  upon  the  screens 
of  the  local  motion-picture  shows.  Inter- 
est may  be  maintained  each  day  by 
announcing  the  standing  of  the  candi- 
dates. 

It  is  up  to  readers  to  vote  for  their 

132 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

favorites,  who,  if  sucessful,  would  be 
trained  to  act  in  the  prize-winning  story. 

The  advantages  of  the  indirect  adver- 
tising campaign  are  many,  and  it  will  be 
found  to  pull  more  results  than  ordinary 
advertising  could  accomplish  in  a  life- 
time.   I  say  this  in  all  seriousness. 

In  the  first  place,  almost  everybody 
has  a  hunch  to  write  a  photoplay,  but 
few  see  their  efforts  on  the  screen.  In 
a  local  contest  they  stand  more  chance 
of  making  good.  The  winner  is  aware 
that  there  is  more  than  $25  and  local 
fame  awaiting  him.  His  success  does 
much  to  remove  the  barriers  from  the 
doors  of  the  regular  motion-picture  pro- 
ducers, who,  knowing  he  is  one  of  the 
"arrived,"  give  his  future  efforts  special 
consideration. 

The  acting  bug  is  strong  within 
many,  especially  boys  and  girls  in  their 
teens.  The  speaking-stage  used  to  be 
the   attraction,    but   nowadays    they   get 

133 


Advertising   by    Motion    Pictures 

screen-Struck  instead.  Can't  you  imagine 
how  proud  the  winners  would  be  to  act 
in  a  photoplay  and  be  viewed  by  their 
admiring  friends?  It  may  prove  a  step- 
ping-stone to  an  engagement  with  a  big 
film  company.  Events  have  turned  out 
this  way  before  now. 

Important  links  in  the  chain  are  the 
local  motion-picture  exhibitors.  All  are 
fully  alive  to  the  value  of  a  photoplay 
possessing  a  strong  local  appeal.  There- 
fore, if  you  agreed  to  announce  in  your 
newspaper  where  the  picture  was  being 
presented,  you  would  find  all  the  local 
exhibitors  clamoring  to  hire  it.  You 
would  probably  be  able  to  charge  a  nom- 
inal fee  to  help  cover  the  cost  of  produc- 
tion, for  it  is  not  as  if  the  photoplay  is 
advertising  pure  and  simple.  You  get 
your  publicity  as  the  promoter  of  the 
production. 

Apart  from  getting  your  newspaper 
on  the  lips  of  everybody,  every  candidate 

134 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

would  enlist  the  aid  of  friends  to  secure 
votes,  the  additional  coupons  required  for 
this  purpose  increasing  your  circulation 
many  times  over,  temporarily,  of  course. 
On  the  other  hand,  you  would  secure 
new  permanent  readers. 

You  may  be  too  far  removed  from 
such  movie-producing  centers  as  New 
York,  Los  Angeles,  Chicago  and  Jackson- 
ville. Fortunately,  however,  there  exist 
private  concerns  throughout  the  country 
which  make  a  specialty  of  local  work. 


185 


XXII. 
SELLING  SHOES  BY  MOTION  PICTURES 

Mr.  Shoe  Manufacturer,  take  your 
choice.  Which  would  you  prefer  to 
boost  a  brand  of  shoes  by — an  industrial 
film,  a  comedy  photoplay  or  a  trick  film? 
That  is  a  matter  for  you  personally  to 
decide,  for  my  responsibility  ceases  after 
mentioning  how  each  type  of  motion  pic- 
ture has  been  employed  by  other  shoe 
manufacturers. 

The  George  E.  Keith  Company,  man- 
ufacturers of  Walk-Over  shoes,  intro- 
duced themselves  to  the  motion-picture 
public  with  "The  Making  of  a  Shoe," 
said  film  being  exactly  one  reel  in  length. 
The  camera  man  went  to  Campello, 
Massachusetts,  for  his  material,  and  first 
panoramed  his  camera  outside  the  Walk- 
Over  plant.    Once  inside,  evidently  noth- 

136 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

ing  escaped  his  notice,  for  ne  covered 
everything,  from  the  leather  inspection 
to  the  poHshing  of  the  finished  soles. 

Credit  must  go  to  the  Krol^n-Fech- 
heimer  Company,  of  Cincinnati,  for  being 
the  first  to  present  photoplay  stars. 
Their  film,  "A  Footwear  Romance,"  fea- 
tured, to  use  a  studio  term,  Ruth  Stone- 
house  and  Bryant  Ashburn.  It  was  easy 
to  capitalize  these  two  attractions,  so  full- 
page  announcements  were  taken  in  the 
leading  motion-picture  magazines. 

This  was  how  the  fans  were  appealed 
to:  Glancing  across  the  aisle  on  the 
Pullman,  Edward  Blair  saw  a  pair  of 
feet  so  small,  so  bewitchingly  dainty, 
that  at  once  he  lost  his  heart  to  the 
pretty  feminine  possessor.  But  who  was 
she,  and  where  was  she  going?  Resort- 
ing to  a  bit  of  clever  detective  work,  he 
found  that  she  wore  the  Red  Cross  shoe 
— a  clue  that  led  up  to  some  startling 
information.     But  afterwards  came  the 

137 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

greatest  shock — when  he  discovered  her 
as  the  servant  in  the  home  of  Miss 
Eugenie  Hatton,  the  girl  he  must  marry 
to  win  the  fortune  of  his  eccentric  uncle. 

How  would  you  have  this  story  end? 
Would  you  have  him  marry  the  servant- 
girl,  whom  he  really  loves,  or  Eugenie 
and  a  fortune?  How  it  really  does  end 
will  be  a  big  surprise  to  you. 

The  star  players,  of  course,  were  es- 
pecially mentioned,  as  well  as  advising 
readers  to  see  the  film  when  it  came  to 
their  town. 

The  opportunity  to  present  the  direct 
appeal  was  not  overlooked,  for  the 
Krohn-Fechheimer  Company  offered  to 
send  the  complete  story  of  the  film.  With 
the  synopsis  was  enclosed  a  card  of 
introduction  to  the  local  Red  Cross 
dealer. 

I  understand  that  the  film  was  han- 
dled by  a  Red  Cross  dealer  in  every 
town,  who  arranged  for  its  showing  at 

138 


Advertising   by    Motion    Pictures 

the  most  desirable  local  photoplay  thea- 
ter, calling  attention  to  the  fact  in  his 
newspaper  announcements. 

The  trick  film  is  capable  of  putting 
over  many  amazing  advertising  stunts, 
and  for  impressing  a  name  on  the  public 
it  can  not  be  surpassed,  if  equaled.  While 
I  can  not  recall  any  American  shoe 
manufacturer  having  adopted  same,  we 
can  take  a  leaf  out  of  Germany's  book. 

A  clever  idea  was  carried  out  by  the 
Dorndorf  Shoe  Stores,  which  establish- 
ment used  a  film  that  presented  a  jum- 
bled heap  of  letters,  these  eventually 
merging  into  the  word  "Dorndorf." 

The  same  concern  employs  another 
film  which  shows  shoe-boxes  traveling 
unaided  from  the  shelves  to  the  customer, 
who  allows  the  shoes  to  try  themselves 
on  his  feet  until  a  pair  proves  suitable. 
Then  appears  the  apt  subtitle,  "Dorn- 
dorf Shoes  Sell  Themselves." 


139 


XXIII. 

FILM  ADVERTISING  FROM  THE  PHOTO- 
PLAYER'S  VIEWPOINT 

Business  and  art  do  not  usually  go 
together,  but  this  can  not  be  said  of 
Edward  Earle,  the  popular  photoplayer, 

"Perhaps  why  I  evince  such  a  great 
interest  in  advertising/*  Mr.  Earle  began, 
"is  the  fact  that  without  it  a  photoplayer 
would  soon  find  his  popularity  on  the 
wane.  A  player  must,  first  of  all,  pos- 
sess ability,  as  otherwise  the  most  bril- 
liant publicity  campaign  in  creation  will 
fizzle  out." 

Having  thus  broken  the  ice,  I  got 
down  to  business. 

"Do  you  advocate  the  film  as  an 
advertising  medium?" 

"Well,  yes,  and  then,  no,"  he  re- 
marked, thoughtfully.     "It  is  the  force- 

140 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

ful  methods  adopted  in  film  advertising 
to  which  I  am  opposed,  and  which,  inci- 
dentally, are  responsible  for  the  medium 
not  having  attained  the  popularity  of  its 
older  sister — press  advertising. 

"One  of  the  points  in  favor  of  the 
latter  is  that  you  are  not  compelled  to 
read  the  advertisements.  They  win  out 
on  their  own  merits,  for  if  one  is  suffi- 
ciently compelling  your  attention  is  auto- 
matically attracted. 

"But  the  *make-up'  of  the  motion-pic- 
ture theater  screen  differs  in  that  only 
one  thing  may  be  presented  at  a  time.  If 
an  advertising  film  is  unfolded,  you  have 
no  other  alternative  in  the  darkened  hall 
than  to  give  it  your  attention. 

"Nothing  is  more  abhorrent  to  the 
people  of  this  democratic  country  than 
compulsory  methods,"  Mr.  Earle  contin- 
ued, "and  it  is  my  belief  that  motion-pic- 
ture advertisers  unconsciously  get  in  bad 
with  their  prospects.    It  is  a  human  trait 

141 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

in  buying  to  be  able  to  choose  between 
goods  of  the  same  kind,  but  as  the 
exhibitor  only  rents  out  his  screen  to 
one  advertiser  in  each  trade,  the  public 
can  not  possibly  discriminate. 

"You  will  have  to  go  far  to  find  a 
magazine  or  newspaper  that  doles  out 
monopolies  to  advertisers.  I  honestly 
think  that  this  condition  of  things  has  a 
tendency  to  make  advertisers  dull  and 
listless.  Competition  is  the  life  and  soul 
of  publicity,  and  makes  the  advertisement 
writer  put  plenty  of  'pep'  into  his  copy. 

"Once  the  present  forceful  methods 
in  film  publicity  presentation  are  abol- 
ished, the  medium  will  enter  an  era  of 
prosperity." 

"Do  you  consider  this  treatment  can 
be  avoided?'*  I  asked. 

"That  all  depends,"  Edward  Earle 
replied.  "You  see,  the  average  photo- 
play program  occupies  two  hours.  To 
lengthen  this  in  order  to  include'  adver- 

142 


Advertising   by    Motion    Pictures 

tising  picture,  the  exhibitor  has  either  to 
open  his  show  earher  or  else  curtail  his 
performance.  The  former  step  would 
not  be  practical,  as  his  busy  times  are 
from  seven  to  eleven  in  the  evening,  in 
which  hours  he  has  to  give  two  perform- 
ances. The  latter  move,  however,  would 
not  meet  with  the  approval  of  his 
patrons. 

"If  the  advertising  film  was  about  one 
reel  in  length,  the  exhibitor  could  just 
about  squeeze  it  in.  This  should  be 
shown  at  one  theater  for  only  a  day,  as 
the  regular  fans  dislike  to  see  a  picture 
more  than  once.  It  will  also  allow  other 
advertisers  a  look-in. 

"If  the  ad.  story  can  be  told  in  less 
than  one  thousand  feet,  so  much  the 
better.  I  notice  some  commercial  pro- 
ducers offer  to  release  several  subjects 
by  different  advertisers  on  the  same  reel. 
I  know  in  the  case  of  press  advertising 
that  it  is  a  serious  mistake  to  cram  as 

143 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

many  words  as  possible  into  a  small,  dis- 
played announcement,  but  in  film  pub- 
licity the  reverse  is  the  case. 

"The  more  material  you  compress  into 
a  film  the  snappier  it  will  be,"  commented 
Mr.  Earle,  "though  clearness  should  not 
be  overlooked.  The  bugbear  in  the 
motion-picture  industry  to-day  is  pad- 
ding, and  I  should  be  sorry  to  see  nation- 
al advertisers  fall  for  it.  A  film  may 
occupy  the  screen  longer,  but  it  will  cer- 
tainly not  impress  spectators  any  the 
more. 

"The  big  advertisement  has  its  place 
in  filmdom  if  the  story  succeeds  in  main- 
taining the  interest  from  beginning  to 
end,  but  you  must  remember  that  a  whole 
page  magazine  ad.  can  be  read  inside  of 
two  minutes,  while  a  feature,  its  motion- 
picture  counterpart,  demands  at  least  an 
hour  of  a  fan's  time. 

"But  there  is  no  room  for  the  big 
feature    in    the    regular    motion-picture 

144 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

theater.  If  I  am  not  mistaken,  there  will 
spring  up  a  chain  of  photoplay  theaters 
in  the  large  cities  to  which  the  public 
will  be  admitted  free.  At  these  ^billboard 
stations'  short,  regular  photoplays  will  be 
sandwiched  in  between  the  ad.  films  so 
as  to  attract  the  folks  inside." 

Mr.  Earle  raises  some  interesting 
points,  which  deserve  the  consideration 
of  every  national  advertiser. 


10  145 


XXIV. 
ADVERTISING    FILM    CIRCULATION 

Motion-picture  advertising  has  pre- 
sented its  crop  of  new  problems,  and 
probably  none  so  involved  as  circulation. 
Let  us,  first  of  all,  compare  the  film  with 
printer's  ink.  To  my  mind,  a  motion 
picture  is  like  a  press  agent's  story  syndi- 
cated to  a  chain  of  newspapers  through- 
out the  country,  yet  it  is  different  in 
some  respects.  A  write-up  may  be  re- 
leased for  simultaneous  circulation  and 
published  in  several  thousand  newspapers 
on  the  same  day,  but  this  stunt  would  not 
be  practical  in  the  case  of  a  motion  pic- 
ture. 

The  regular  photoplay  producers  have 
specified  release  dates  for  their  produc- 
tions, and  although  several  thousand  ex- 
hibitors may  book  the  same  production, 

146 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

their  dates  will  be  spread  over  a  period 
of  about  six  months.  Each  print  sup- 
plied by  the  film  manufacturer  costs  the 
exchange  at  least  $100.  The  leading 
theaters  are  in  a  position  to  pay  the  high 
rental  demanded  for  first  run,  but  the 
exchange  has  to  keep  that  print  working 
overtime  in  order  to  make  a  profit,  so  it 
is  hired  out  to  other  exhibitors  at  pro- 
portionately reduced  rates. 

Now,  suppose  you  have  a  one-reel 
industrial  film  produced.  The  negative, 
we  will  say,  costs  $500,  but  for  every 
print  you  need  the  charge  is  $100.  Now, 
if  you  are  going  to  have  your  film  shown 
at  every  theater  simultaneously,  it  means 
that  you  will  have  to  supply  one  print 
for  each  theater.  As  the  picture  will 
only  be  retained  for  a  day  or  so,  it  is 
extremely  doubtful  whether  the  expense 
will  be  justified,  so  it  is  best  to  utilize 
only  one  print  in  each  territory.  A  film 
does  not  generally  begin  to  show  signs 

147 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

of  wear  and  tear  until  after  about  six 
months'  constant  use,  and,  if  we  allow 
one  day  for  each  theater,  each  copy  of 
the  picture  will  be  shown  in  about  156 
theaters.  Allowing  an  average  audience 
of  one  thousand  at  each  of  the  two 
evening  performances,  the  film  will  have 
been  seen  by  312,000  people.  There  are 
more  in  these  than  appear  on  the  surface, 
for,  although  a  publication  may  guarantee 
such  a  circulation,  you  have  to  allow  for 
those  readers  who  skip  all  advertise- 
ments. In  the  motion-picture  theater  this 
can  not  be  done,  as  only  one  thing  is 
shown  on  the  screen  at  a  time,  and  in  the 
darkened  hall  a  spectator  can  not  turn 
his  attention  elsewhere. 

Another  thing  which  must  be  taken 
into  consideration  is  the  fact  that  the 
one-reel  film  occupies  the  screen  for 
eighteen  minutes,  which  is  several  times 
greater  than  the  time  a  reader  devotes 
to  a  press  advertisement. 

148 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

The  film  must  be  charged  to  the  copy 
writer's  account,  for  an  exhibitor  charges 
from  $12.50  to  $50  per  week  for  renting 
out  his  screen  for  advertising  purposes. 
A  film,  I  admit,  represents  a  big  outlay 
for  the  copy  writer's  services,  but  it  is  a 
worth-while  investment. 

The  Maxwell  Motor  Sales  Company, 
for  instance,  had  a  series  of  films  pro- 
duced which  were  presented  over  five 
thousand  times  in  America,  Canada, 
Australia  and  England.  It  is  estimated 
that  they  were  seen  by  at  least  two 
million  people.  The  circulation  was 
mainly  achieved  by  dealer  co-operation, 
the  dealer  making  arrangements  with  the 
local  exhibitor  and  presenting  free  tickets 
to  all  who  cared  to  accept  same. 

Those  advertisers  who  do  not  make 
their  appeal  to  the  general  public  will 
find  that  quality  circulation  is  far  prefer- 
able to  quantity  circulation.  Hoggson 
Brothers,  the  New  York  contracting  de- 

149 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

signers,  realized  this  when  they  showed 
their  film  exclusively  to  business  men 
who  contemplated  having  buildings  erect- 
ed or  remodeled. 

The  film  owned  by  the  Columbia 
Paper  Manufacturing  Company,  of 
Washington,  D.  C,  was  exhibited  by  one 
of  their  traveling  representatives  before 
printers  in  various  parts  of  the  country. 

The  film  which  boosted  the  products 
of  the  Peabody  Coal  Company,  of  Chi- 
cago, was  shown  at  a  number  of  educa- 
tional institutions,  as  well  as  to  indi- 
viduals  interested   in  the   coal  business. 

The  Reliable  Incubator  and  Brooder 
Company  took  advantage  of  a  recent 
poultry  show  held  at  Quincy,  Illinois,  to 
present  a  motion  picture,  "taking  spec- 
tators through  their  plant  and  showing 
their  poultry-raising  methods." 
'  Both  the  French  China  Company,  of 
Sebring,  Ohio,  and  the  National  Tube 
Company  were  represented  at  the  Pana- 

150 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

ma-Pacific  Exposition  by  motion-picture 
exhibits. 

Under  these  conditions,  the  motion 
picture  becomes  a  catalogue  in  celluloid. 
It  is  more  powerful  than  the  printed 
page,  and  helps  to  substantiate  the  claims 
of  the  salesman.  Whether  it  is  best 
suited  to  general  or  class  circulation  is 
determined  at  the  outset,  after  which  it 
is  necessary  to  seek  the  right  channels, 
these  being  determined  by  the  character 
of  the  proposition. 


161 


XXV. 

COVERING  THE  MOTION-PICTURE  FIELD 
BY  MAGAZINES 

Not  so  long  ago  photoplay  audiences 
were  content  to  just  see  the  films  through, 
so  the  players  remained  mere  shadows 
until  the  industry  advanced  a  few  steps 
further,  when  stock  companies  were 
formed.  Now,  this  meant  that  the  fans 
saw  the  same  actors,  week  in  and  week 
out,  instead  of  a  fresh  face  every  time, 
and,  very  naturally,  they  began  to  evince 
an  interest  both  in  the  screen  players  and 
the  brands  of  photoplays.  Then  the 
motion-picture  companies  were  bombard- 
ed with  inquiries  asking  for  the  name  of 
the  man  with  the  curly  hair,  and  so  forth. 

It  occurred  to  one  of  the  film  com- 
panies that  there  was  scope  for  a  maga- 
zine appealing  expressly  to  the  fans,  and 

152 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

now  the  motion-picture  field  is  repre- 
sented by  nearly  a  dozen  publications  of 
all  sorts  and  descriptions. 

The  motion  picture  to-day  has  such 
a  tremendous  hold  that  it  is  estimated 
that  there  are  twenty  million  fans  in  this 
country.  Just  think  of  it — one-fifth  of 
the  total  population. 

It  has  been  truthfully  stated  that 
motion-picture  fans  are  the  most  inquisi- 
tive folks  in  the  world.  They  make  it 
their  business  to  read  every  word  in  their 
favorite  photoplay  magazine,  and  this 
ensures  an  advertiser's  announcements 
being  read. 

I  have  discovered  that  the  majority 
of  the  readers  are  girls  and  women,  but 
the  publications  are  taken  in  the  homes 
and  eagerly  devoured  by  the  rest  of  the 
family. 

It  has  long  been  thought  that  motion- 
picture  audiences  only  comprised  the 
poorer   classes,   but   now   the   habit  has 

153 


Advertising  by  Motion   Pictures 

spread  to  folks  in  comfortable  circum- 
stances. These  publications  reach  the 
largest  city  as  well  as  the  smallest  rural 
community,  and  are  equally  good  for 
mail  order  or  dealer  campaigns. 

The  photoplayers  thrive  on  popular- 
ity, and  you  would  be  surprised  what  a 
lot  a  fan  thinks  of  his  or  her  idol,  so  the 
appeal  goes  closer  home  when  the  copy 
is  linked  with  the  name  of  a  prominent 
screen  performer.  For  instance,  in  one 
publication  the  Charles  William  Stores, 
the  New  York  mail-order  house,  ran 
three  cuts  of  popular  players  in  the  full- 
page  ad.  They  first  showed  Harold 
Lockwood  wearing  one  of  their  spring 
hats ;  the  second  was  of  Romaine  Fielding 
attired  in  one  of  their  business  suits, 
while  Marguerite  Clayton  was  seen  with 
one  of  the  dainty  afternoon  dresses  on. 
In  the  same  issue  Ruth  Stonehouse  testi- 
fied to  the  merits  of  Sempre  Giovine 
Soap. 

114 


Advertising  by  Motion   Pictures 

The  logical  follow-up  medium  for  your 
film  is  the  motion-picture  publication 
field,  for  every  fan  takes  regularly  at 
least  one  publication  devoted  to  photo- 
plays, and  the  cover  of  national  magazine 
or  periodical  you  have  in  mind  may  only 
catch  his  eye  at  the  news-stand. 


155 


XXVI. 

FUTURE  DEVELOPMENTS  OF  ADVERTIS- 
ING BY  MOTION  PICTURES 

There  is  a  great  future  before  adver- 
tising by  motion  pictures,  and  it  is  only 
with  the  most  careful  deliberation  that  I 
have  concluded  in  what  way  the  future 
developments  will  assume  shape. 

The  medium  is  practically  only  in  its 
infancy  to-day,  for,  despite  the  vast  pos- 
sibilities offered,  most  concerns  have 
seemed  to  favor  following  the  same 
groove.  I  do  not  wish  to  insinuate  that 
this  is  because  the  work  has  been  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  several  firms  special- 
izing in  the  producing  of  commercial 
motion  pictures.  Such  a  thing  never 
entered  my  mind.  I  do  think,  however, 
it  is  due  to  the  fact  that  advertisers  have 
been  reluctant  to  deviate   from  the  ex- 

156 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

ploited  fields.  The  path  of  the  pioneer 
may  be  speculative,  but  it  need  never  be, 
if  the  alert  advertiser  studies  the  other 
end  of  the  business,  where  photoplays 
are  made  and  exhibited  for  entertainment 
purposes.  It  is  a  reliable  thermometer 
to  watch,  believe  me.  That  much  only 
stands  to  reason,  for  are  not  the  majority 
of  ad.  films  shown  on  programs  along 
with  the  ordinary  photoplays? 

To  achieve  permanent  results,  the 
spasmodic  plan  at  present  prevailing  must 
be  abandoned.  You  would  not  dream  of 
inserting  a  solitary  one  advertisement 
in  the  press  and  then  expect  it  to  be 
business-bringing  for  all  time,  would 
you? 

Well,  perhaps  you  have  gotten  the 
hunch  that  the  film  is  a  permanent  ad. 
So  it  is,  only,  to  have  it  do  so,  you  must 
keep  it  on  the  rounds  to  folks  who  have 
not  seen  it  before.  It  is  the  greatest 
mistake  in  the  world  to  present  the  same 

157 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

film  before  the  identical  audience  day 
after  day.  Let  us  come  to  an  under- 
standing. Would  you  employ  the  same 
copy  in  the  newspapers  in  more  than 
one  issue?  Hardly.  You  would  alter 
it  so  as  to  eventually  capture  the  most 
skeptical  customer.  You  must,  then, 
apply  the  same  methods  to  film  publicity. 
And  this  is  why  I  hold  the  opinion 
that  a  moving-picture  expert  will  be  on 
the  staff  of  every  large  manufacturing 
concern.  His  duty  will  be  to  present  his 
employer's  copy  to  the  best  possible  ad- 
vantage on  the  film.  At  the  same  time, 
each  large  advertiser  will  lay  down  a 
film-producing  plant.  It  is  going  to 
incur  him  a  big  initial  outlay,  what  with 
an  artificial  light  studio,  accessories, 
stock  company  and  developing  plant,  but 
he  will  obtain  his  expense  back  by  the 
considerable  saving  effected  in  not  having 
to  have  his  work  done  outside.  Natu- 
rally, this  expenditure  will  not  be  justified 

158 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

unless  the  advertiser  is  prepared  to 
launch  his  publicity  campaign  along  the 
same  extensive  lines  as  in  the  press.  We 
shall  find  him,  I  fancy,  releasing  new 
films  with  clockwork  regularity.  By  hav- 
ing all  the  facilities  at  his  command  for 
the  producing  of  these,  he  will  be  de- 
pendent on  nobody,  and  can  impart  the 
necessary  individuality  into  his  pictures. 
His  first  big  move  will  be  to  coax 
some  of  the  leading  movie  stars  to  be 
featured  in  an  advertising  film  which  is 
to  be  produced  in  an  elaborate  manner. 
The  fee  for  his  or  her  services  will  be 
very  large,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  exhib- 
itors will  simply  clamor  for  the  free  hire 
of  the  film,  with,  say,  Earle  Williams  as 
a  bachelor  who  has  his  housekeeping 
worries  lessened  by  some  article  on  the 
market.  The  great  saving  in  the  fees 
paid  to  exhibitors  for  showing  an  ordi- 
nary ad.  film  will  be  eflfected.  Such  a 
picture  would  also  secure  a  larger  circu- 

150 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

iation,  apart  from  the  fact  that  movie 
fans  will  sit  up  and  take  notice  when  they 
behold  their  idol  in  a  role  similar  to  the 
one  mentioned.  This  will  mean  the  ad. 
appeal  getting  over  more  convincingly. 

The  next  development  will  be  the 
advertising  film  serial.  As  you  are  prob- 
ably aware,  the  dramatic  serial  has  taken 
the  photoplay  world  by  storm.  It  is  the 
ideal  vehicle  for  the  advertiser,  inasmuch 
as  it  permits  the  interest  to  be  retained. 
The  story,  if  sufficiently  gripping,  will 
keep  audiences  in  suspense  from  one 
week  to  another.  There  will  be  none  of 
those  trite  stories  that  form  the  basis  of 
ad.  films  to-day.  An  aim  will  also  be 
made  to  avoid  permitting  the  advertising 
element  to  obtrude. 

One  peculiar  thing  about  the  motion- 
picture  equivalent  of  the  newspaper  is 
that  it  does  not  carry  advertisements,  but 
this  state  of  affairs  will  not  exist  much 
longer.    For  these  mediums  a  special  type 

160 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

of  ads.  will  be  needed.  They  will  be 
sandwiched  in  the  news  items  and  be  of 
a  topical  character,  so  as  to  preserve  the 
same  atmosphere.  For  instance,  when 
a  battleship  is  launched,  you  won't  forget 
to  be  told  the  brand  of  the  bottle  of 
champagne  that  is  smashed  upon  the 
vessel. 

The  feature  production  does  not  ap- 
peal to  me  much  as  a  paying  proposition 
for  the  advertiser.  It  is  too  reminiscent 
of  trying  to  cram  as  much  matter  as 
possible  in  a  single  advertisement. 

One  thing  to  be  said  in  favor  of  the 
film  is  that  it  is  a  perfect  paradise  for 
the  honest  advertiser,  for,  as  yet,  fraudu- 
lent advertising  has  not  been  allowed  to 
mingle  with  the  genuine. 

The  plant  of  a  food  manufacturer, 
for  instance,  may  be  unsanitary  and  in- 
ferior raw  materials  used.  Should  this 
type  of  business  man  be  unscrupulous 
enough,  he  might  have  his  conditions  of 

11  161 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

his  plant  pictured  as  ideal,  by  faking  the 
whole  thing  in  a  film  studio. 

What  is  sapping  the  progress  of  film 
advertising  is  that  no  systematic  method 
of  circularizing  exists,  for,  naturally,  this 
end  of  the  process  is  as  important  as  the 
picture  itself.  What  I  predict  is  pub- 
licity agencies  specializing  in  motion-pic- 
ture theaters.  Then  when  an  advertiser 
has  a  high-class  proposition,  a  circuit  of 
high-class  theaters  in  select  localities  will 
be  chosen,  thus  eliminating  waste  circu- 
lation. 


162 


XXVII. 

BOOSTING  YOUR  TRADE  WITH  A 
POPULAR   PLAYER 

Motion  pictures  are  to-day  a  force  to 
be  reckoned  with,  and  the  national  adver- 
tiser can  not  do  better  than  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  weaknesses  of  the  fans, 
who  are  enrolled  from  all  walks  of  life, 
and  no  one,  from  the  boy  in  short  pants 
to  the  old  man  of  seventy,  is  immune. 
When  they  get  the  motion-picture  bug 
badly — and  the  majority  succumb — their 
interest  in  a  photoplay  only  really  com- 
mences when  they  view  it  at  their  pet 
theater.  They  next  turn  to  their  encyclo- 
pedia— the  latest  issue  of  their  favorite 
photoplay  publication — in  which  they 
will  probably  find  the  story  of  the  play 
and  some  dope  on  the  producing  of  it. 
By  the  time  they  are  through  they  are 

163 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

sure  to  know  the  photoplay  from  A  to  Z. 

The  star  player  is  a  greater  magnet 
than  the  play.  The  fans  literally  pester 
the  lives  out  of  their  screen  idols  via 
Uncle  Sam's  mails,  and  generally  implore 
their  pet  magazine  to  publish  an  inter- 
view. Practically  anything  linked  with  a 
motion-picture  star  is  sure  to  find  a  ready 
response.  You  can  not  secure  a  popular 
photoplayer  to  appear  in  a  thinly  dis- 
guised advertising  film,  so  the  next  best 
thing  you  can  do  is  to  work  along 
lines  which  other  advertisers  have  suc- 
cessfully tried  out.  Here  follow  some 
examples. 

Pearl  White,  of  "Exploits  of  Elaine" 
fame,  was  shown  in  an  ad.  which  ap- 
peared in  the  Motion  Picture  Magazine, 
wearing  Vantine's  Panama  hat. 

Mary  Pickford  owns  a  Maxwell 
Cabriolet,  so  the  manufacturers  secured 
a  snapshot  of  her  boarding  her  car.  The 
photograph   was   used   in   a   New   York 

164 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

Morning  Telegraph  ad.  to  back  up  the 
following  argument:  "This  car  is  the 
easiest  car  in  the  world  for  a  woman  to 
drive.  That  is  why  Mary  Pickford 
selected  it." 

A  photograph  of  Lillian  Walker  in  a 
smiling  pose  accompanied  an  ad.  in  the 
Motion  Picture  Magazine  for  Carmen 
Complexion  Powder.  This  was  the  sig- 
nificant argument:  "One  that  adds  every 
charm  to  your  complexion,  as  well  as  Lil- 
lian Walker's,  without  seeming  artificial." 

Marguerite  Snow  supplied  the  fol- 
lowing testimonial  for  Sempre  Giovine: 
"I  am  pleased  to  attest  to  the  merits  of 
your  skin  preparation,  Sempre  Giovine, 
conscientiously,  having  found  it  a  neces- 
sary adjunct  to  my  toilet  table.  Its  use 
after  a  day  out  in  all  kinds  of  weather 
leaves  the  skin  in  a  velvety  condition." 
This  supplied  the  "pep"  to  a  full-page 
announcement  in  the  Photoplay  Maga- 
zine, 

165 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

Mary  Charleston  permitted  her  name 
to  be  used  in  connection  with  Dr.  BelHn's 
Wonderstein  for  a  New  York  Morning 
Telegraph  ad. 

The  Richardson  Silk  played  up  Mary 
Fuller  prominently  in  a  displayed  adver- 
tisement which  graced  the  columns  of 
the  Motion  Picture  Magazine.  "Free: 
Mary  Fuller's  Own  Pillow''  was  the 
headline.  Below  the  cut  of  the  pil- 
low appeared  Miss  Fuller's  testimoni- 
al: "I  prefer  this  design  to  any  I  have 
seen." 

The  Red  Cross  Shoe  manufacturers 
started  off  their  full-page  ad.  in  the 
Photoplay  Magazine  as  follows:  "Are 
You  Making  the  Mistake  Ruth  Stone- 
house  Did?"  *T  had  always  heard  so 
much  about  the  comfort  of  your  shoes 
that  I  did  not  realize  how  very  stylish  the 
different  models  were,"  ran  her  quoted 
letter. 

Even  child  players  can  be  turned  to 

160 


Advertising   by    Motion    Pictures 

advertising  account,  as  v^itness  the  fol- 
lowing full-page  ad.  in  the  Motion  Pic- 
ture Magazine:  "Your  Little  Friend, 
Little  Billy  Wirth,  Whose  Mother  is 
Glad  to  Testify  to  the  Value  of  Imperial 
Granum,  the  Unsweetened  Food." 

National  advertisers,  up  to  the  present 
time,  have  paid  considerably  more  atten- 
tion to  the  heroines  than  the  heroes. 
Possibly  it  is  because  it  is  much  easier 
to  appeal  to  the  women,  but  the  odds 
should  be  more  balanced.  Tobacco,  ho- 
siery and  sporting-goods  manufacturers 
are  to  name  just  three  kinds  of  adver- 
tisers who  could  employ  a  prominent 
male  player  to  advantage. 

Why  not  name  the  next  new  branded 
article  you  put  on  the  market  after  a 
motion-picture  star?  I  happen  to  have 
advance  information  of  a  cigar  manu- 
facturer who  has  christened  a  new  cigar 
after  King  Baggot.  I  understand,  too, 
that  Lillian  Walker,  Edward  Earle,  Leah 

167 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

Baird  and  Eleanor  Woodruff  are  open 
to  receive  offers. 

How  can  the  photoplayers  be  ap- 
proached? In  the  first  place,  a  player 
can  not  secure  too  much  publicity,  and  if 
he  neglects  this  important  factor  he  loses 
much  of  his  popularity. 

Great  as  is  a  motion-picture  player's 
need  for  publicity,  he  will  seldom  allow 
his  name  to  be  exploited  by  an  advertiser 
without  adequate  remuneration,  as  he 
feels  that  he,  too,  should  reap  some  of 
the  financial  benefit. 


1«8 


XXVIII. 

BOOSTING  YOUR  BUSINESS  WITH  AN 
ADVERTISING    MOTION    PICTURE 

Are  you  a  storekeeper  who  would 
blazon  the  path  of  originality,  yet  would 
not  object  to  the  increased  outlay? 

The  advertising  powers  of  the  motion 
picture  have  been  fully  realized  by  the 
large  manufacturers  of  this  country,  but 
the  average  retailer  has  confined  himself 
to  the  slide.  ^ 

With  a  film,  however,  you  can  cause 
a  small-sized  sensation  in  your  town,  for 
folks  will  look  upon  your  effort  as  a  home 
product.  You  can  not,  of  course,  live 
upon  publicity,  and  the  true  test  will  be 
the  extra  amount  of  business  it  brings. 
Once  the  interest  of  people  is  aroused, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  concerning  the 
latter. 


Advertising   by    Motion    Pictures 

The  most  suitable  kind  of  photoplay 
is  the  comedy.  You  may  have  a  commer- 
cial motion-picture  photographer  located 
near  by,  in  which  case  you  can  avail 
yourself  of  his  services.  Failing  this, 
however,  there  are  a  number  of  concerns 
who  do  nothing  else  but  produce  films  for 
commercial  purposes. 

If  you  have  the  film  produced  along 
economical  lines,  you  should  get  the  neg- 
ative produced  and  developed  for  an 
inclusive  charge  not  exceeding  seventy- 
five  cents  per  foot.  A  useful  length 
is  from  two  to  five  hundred  feet.  Then 
you  will  want  a  positive,  which  will  cost 
you  ten  cents  per  foot. 

In  regard  to  the  actual  producing  of 
the  photoplay,  I  strongly  advise  you  to 
have  some  scenes  taken  amid  familiar 
local  landscapes.  You  might  persuade 
members  of  the  local  dramatic  society  to 
attend  to  the  acting  end.  It  would  im- 
prove the  play  if  you  could  manage  to 

170 


Advertising   by    Motion    Pictures 

introduce  well-known  local  citizens.  This 
will  save  you  the  expense  of  having  to 
hire  regular  motion-picture  actors,  and 
the  folks  who  see  the  film  will  not  be 
critical  as  to  the  technical  defects.  The 
concern  you  engage  to  put  on  the  picture 
will  send  along  a  capable  director,  who 
will  knock  the  players  into  passable  shape. 

Considerable  additional  expense  is  in- 
volved in  the  use  of  interiors,  such  as  a 
store,  house  or  office  building.  These 
have  to  be  specially  erected  in  the  studio 
and  plenty  of  electric  light  used  for 
photographic  purposes,  so  keep  to  out- 
door scenes.  It  can  easily  be  done  by 
exercising  a  little  ingenuity.  For  in- 
stance, instead  of  arranging  certain 
action  to  take  place  inside  your  store,  you 
can  get  it  over  aqually  effective  by  ar- 
ranging for  it  to  occur  outside  your 
premises. 

For  economy's  sake,  you  need  only 
one  copy  of  the  positive  in  circulation. 

171 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

Now,  if  you  approach  local  motion-pic- 
ture exhibitors  in  the  right  spirit,  they 
may  not  demand  a  fee  for  showing  your 
advertising  motion  picture,  as  they  real- 
ize too  well  the  value  of  anything  with 
a  local  appeal.  You  should  arrange  with 
the  leading  theater  to  have  first  run  of 
the  photoplay,  say,  for  a  week,  after 
which  you  can  loan  it  to  the  next  on  the 
waiting-list,  until  all  have  been  covered. 
Plenty  of  newspaper  publicity  is 
yours,  too,  if  you  invite  the  local  press 
to  be  present  at  the  producing  of  the 
film,  and  also  when  it  is  about  to  be 
released  for  public  exhibition. 


172 


XXIX. 

PULLING  MOVIE-SLIDE   ADVERTISING 
OUT   OF  THE  RUT 

From  a  study  of  the  motion-picture 
screens  up  and  down  the  country,  I  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  average 
dealer  does  not  take  the  trouble  to  get 
the  fullest  possible  value  out  of  his 
investment. 

The  majority  of  the  announcements 
are  merely  plain  business  notices  that 
simply  bore  the  spectator  who  has  the 
doubtful  pleasure  of  sitting  them 
through.  They  do,  in  fact,  remind  one 
only  too  strongly  of  the  early  days  of 
newspaper  advertising,  when  every  ad- 
vertiser thought  it  sufficient  to  have  a 
formal  announcement,  unchanged  from 
year  in  to  year  out.  Few  dealers  now 
would  think  of  spending  good  money  in 

ITS 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

newspaper  publicity  in  such  a  hackneyed 
and  uninteresting  fashion,  because  they 
are  well  aware  that  their  ad.  has  to  com- 
pete with  many  others,  and  it  is  only  the 
attractively  prepared  ones  that  command 
a  hearing. 

The  same  methods  must  be  applied 
to  movie-screen  advertising,  if  it  is  to 
be  pulled  out  of  the  rut.  There  was  a 
period  when  audiences  were  attracted  by 
anything  that  resembled  a  picture.  But 
these  days  are  gone  and  buried,  and  the 
fans  are  only  satisfied  with  a  program  of 
the  best  photoplays.  This  being  the  case, 
it  goes  without  saying  that  they  expect 
the  same  of  the  efforts  to  hold  their 
attention  during  the  reels.  You  can  not 
really  expect  the  ad.  appeals  to  sink  in 
otherwise. 

Although  you  would  dismiss  the  idea 
of  having  a  short  commercial  film  of  your 
own  made  on  the  grounds  of  expense, 
much   remains   to  be   done   in   order   to 

174 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

make  slide  advertising  interesting  to  pic- 
ture patrons  rather  than  tiring  them,  as 
it  does  at  present.  It  is  going  to  cost 
you  a  little  more  money  and  effort,  but 
your  slide  will  be  distinctive  and  will 
stand  out  above  the  rest.  Your  reward 
will  be  increased  results. 

Just  bear  in  mind,  too,  that  you 
haven't  merely  got  to  have  them  look  at 
your  slide,  but  arouse  them  to  action. 
This  can  be  done  by  having  prepared  a 
serial  story  in  picture  form  on  similar 
lines  to  the  comic  supplements  in  the 
metropolitan  Sunday  journals.  Have  a 
series  of  slides  made  of  it,  showing  one 
each  day  until  the  story  is  told.  A  few 
days  before  putting  it  on  the  screen  of 
the  local  movie  show,  get  the  operator 
to  throw  on  a  rough  slide  to  this  effect: 
"Watch  out  for  the  story,  The  Good 
Smith's  Meat  Did  for  the  White 
Family.'  "  This  applies  to  a  butcher,  but 
a    story    can    be    written    around    every 

175 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

trade.  There  are  firms  who  specialize  in 
this  kind  of  work.  This  plan  has  been 
attended  with  excellent  results  wherever 
tried  out. 

If,  by  ingenuity,  you  can  make  the 
picture  on  the  slide  move,  so  much  the 
better.  A  London  manufacturer  boosted 
his  bottled  beer  by  showing  the  slide  of 
a  dog  drinking  his  master's  beer  when 
he  was  out  of  the  room.  Every  time  the 
dog  lapped  up  the  dinner  stout,  the  audi- 
ences could  not  refrain  from  laughing 
heartily. 

One  way  by  which  to  get  on  good 
terms  with  the  motion-picture  exhibitor 
is  to  offer  a  liberal  sample  of  your  special 
line  to  the  first  hundred  attending  the 
performance  on  the  morrow.  This  allows 
a  direct  appeal  to  be  presented,  and  a 
Brooklyn  grocery  store  has  made  good  in 
drawing  marked  attention  to  their  own 
brand  of  tea. 

Another  way  to  make  the  fans  laugh 

176 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

is  to  have  a  witty  verse  written  alongside 
an  appropriate  picture.  I  forget  the  ac- 
tual verse  of  it,  but  a  Brooklyn  hand 
laundry  draws  the  distinction  between 
the  ape  days,  when  clean  laundry  was  not 
necessary,  and  the  vital  importance 
to-day. 

Slide  advertising  puts  one  over  the 
press  in  securing  the  concentration  of 
readers.  Surely,  then,  it  is  worth  while 
paying  more  attention  to  this  excellent 
medium. 


12  177 


XXX. 

MAINTAINING  THE  INTEREST  IN  SLIDE 
ADVERTISING 

It  is  hard  to  keep  pace  with  the  prog- 
ress of  the  motion  picture.  But  a  short 
time  ago  the  one-reel  subject  was  con- 
sidered the  maximum  length;  then  came 
the  feature,  requiring  up  to  twelve  reels 
to  tell  its  lengthy  story.  This  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  photoplay  series — a  number 
of  stories  linked  around  a  set  of  char- 
acters, but  each  complete  in  itself.  The 
movie  producers,  however,  were  not  sat- 
isfied, so  they  tackled  the  serial  proper, 
making  a  fifty-reel  production  and  releas- 
ing it  in  two-reel  installments. 

The  bearing  these  facts  have  on  this 
article  amounts  to  this :  In  motion-picture 
theater  publicity,  and  slide  advertising  in 
particular,  you  have  to  cut  the  cloth  ac- 

178 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

cording  to  the  length,  which,  to  be  more 
expHcit,  means  that  you  must  watch  the 
entertainment  closely  and  follow  the 
general  trend. 

You,  as  a  slide  advertiser,  are  in 
much  the  same  position  as  the  photoplay 
producer,  who  is  not  content  to  rest 
upon  his  laurels,  thereby  not  giving  the 
fans  an  opportunity  to  complain.  All 
this  has  a  certain  physiological  effect  upon 
picture-play-goers,  who  expect  slides  to 
advance  in  a  like  manner.  Now,  let  us 
see  how  you  can  benefit  by  running  a 
series  of  ad.  slides. 

It  will,  in  the  first  place,  give  you 
greater  confidence  in  entering  into  a  con- 
tract with  the  motion-picture  exhibitor, 
as  you  owe  it  to  the  spectators  to  com- 
plete the  series,  or  serial,  you  will  begin 
so  auspiciously.  It  is  good  money  thrown 
away  otherwise. 

It  is  hard  to  maintain  interest  with 
single  slides,  but  with  a  good  series,  or 

179 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

serial,  you  can  actually  make  folks  look 
forward  to  the  next  slide. 

It  is  essential  to  secure  the  exclusive 
rights  for  your  town.  This  is  already 
possible,  for  the  slide  manufacturers  have 
produced  a  number  of  excellent  series  in 
slides.  This  concession,  which  may  be 
obtained  by  paying  an  additional  fee,  is 
important,  because  the  slides  can  be  filled 
in  to  suit  almost  any  business. 

You  must,  however,  be  prepared  for 
increasing  your  advertising  revenue,  but 
why  begrudge  it  when  you  can  go  one 
better  than  other  advertisers?  The  point 
is  this:  Probably  your  exhibitor  has  a 
dozen  advertisers  under  contract.  Not 
one  business  is  in  competition.  It  goes 
without  saying  that  a  snappy  series  or 
serial  will  sink  in,  whereas  a  plain  an- 
nouncement slide  of  another  dealer  will 
be  skimmed. 

In  a  series  of  slides  you  can  put  over 
an  entertaining  story,  humorous  in  parts, 

180 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

and  educational  in  that  you  point  out 
why  folks  should  trade  with  you.  A 
clever  scenario  writer-artist  and  skilled 
slide  manufacturer  can  do  wonders  for 
you  in  this  connection. 

Equally  important  is  arranging  for 
the  exhibition  of  your  slides.  Most 
theaters  change  their  program  daily,  and 
only  a  proportion  of  patrons  attend  regu- 
larly. Some  days  the  program  does  not 
appeal  to  them,  so  they  favor  the  rival 
show.  Therefore,  if  you  were  running 
a  slide  subject  of  the  "to  be  continued" 
kind,  you  could  not  expect  to  have  many 
follow  it  from  beginning  to  end  unless 
you  took  a  system  in  charge. 

Every  now  and  then  a  motion-picture 
producer  releases  a  serial  or  series.  It 
is  booked  by  the  exhibitor,  who  arranges 
for  its  showing  at  his  theater  in  weekly 
installments.  The  majority  of  his  regular 
patrons  are  present  each  week  on  the 
evening  set  aside  for  the  installment.    So 

181 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

if  your  slide  series  or  serial  started  off 
with  the  photoplay  it  would  be  seen  in 
its  entirety  by  most  folks.  When  you 
are  planning  your  slide  series  or  serial, 
arrange  with  your  chosen  exhibitor  to 
run  it  simultaneously  with  the  film  pro- 
duction. 


182 


XXXI. 
INDIVIDUALITY  IN  SLIDE  ADVERTISING 

You  have  heard  that  "imitation  is  the 
sincerest  form  of  flattery,"  so  you  do 
not  strive  to  emulate  the  other  fellow. 
You  prefer  to  go  one  better  and  raise 
yourself  out  of  the  "type"  clique,  thus 
establishing  your  individuality.  I  am 
fully  aware  that  I  am  treading  on  dan- 
gerous ground  in  quoting  slide  adver- 
tising as  an  example,  for  the  simple 
reason  that  it  stands  in  a  class  all  by 
itself.  How?  Well,  permit  me  to 
explain. 

Suppose  you  prepared  a  dandy  adver- 
tisement, and  one  entirely  different  from 
that  of  your  competitors.  Would  you 
not  commission  your  most  desirable  local 
newspaper  to  insert  it,  with  the  request 
that   they   give   it    as    good   display   as 

183 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

possible.  If  you  didn't  do  this,  you 
would  be  foolish. 

Suppose  again,  when  next  week  came 
round,  you  were  hard  up  for  a  bright, 
new  idea,  and  time  was  precious.  Rather 
than  go  unrepresented  in  the  next  issue 
you  would  promptly  set  about  to  prepare 
a  stereotyped  announcement,  which  would 
not  cost  you  a  cent  more  for  composing. 

Yet,  if  you  blazoned  the  path  of  orig- 
inality in  slide  publicity  without  knowing 
the  correct  way  to  go  about  it,  the  re- 
sults would  be  disappointing.  Even 
though  you  had  prepared  your  copy,  you 
would  want  a  humorous  illustration  to 
back  it  up,  and  it  would  doubtless  occur 
to  you  to  hire  a  local  artist.  Lastly,  you 
would  put  your  announcement  before 
prospects  on  a  home-made  slide.  Slide- 
making,  let  me  tell  you,  is  an  art  which 
has  only  been  perfected  by  years  of 
experience. 

If  you  present  your  screen  ad.  in  a 

184 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

crude  manner,  your  purpose  will  be  de- 
feated. So  the  only  alternative  is  to 
have  one  of  the  slide  manufacturers 
make  a  special  slide  to  your  order.  It 
should  cost  you  about  $1  additional,  for 
which  amount  you  will  obtain  an  artistic 
slide. 

Possibly  it  has  never  occurred  to  you 
that  you  can  use  the  stock  slide  and  still 
give  photoplay  goers  the  impression  that 
you  are  decidedly  distinctive.  The 
motion-picture  exhibitor  believes  in  hir- 
ing his  screen  to  one  advertiser  in  each 
trade,  consequently,  if  the  slide  has  been 
prepared  specially  for  your  trade,  there 
is  no  fear  of  overlapping.  What  I  mean 
is  this :  There  are  slides  on  the  market 
which,  by  filling  in  the  name,  address 
and  business,  can  be  made  applicable  for 
several  trades.  Here  is  one  example: 
''You'll  Treat  Your  Pocketbook  Right  if 
You  Do  Your  Shopping  at ." 

It  would  be  rather  embarrassing,  for 

185 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

instance,  if  several  other  traders  em- 
ployed the  self -same  slide.  The  best  stock 
slides  are  those  that  can  not  be  adapted 
by  any  other  trade,  and  there  are  plenty 
of  this  kind  to  be  had.  Now,  on  the 
other  hand,  there  may  be  occasions  when 
a  special  slide  is  a  necessity.  Maybe 
there  are  some  exclusive  features  about 
your  business,  to  boost  which  slides  of  a 
general  character  would  be  out  of  place. 

The  only  chance  a  person  would  have 
of  discovering  that  your  stock  slide  is 
used  by  a  competitor  would  be  if  he 
happened  to  be  a  patron  of  more  than 
one  motion-picture  theater.  Here,  again, 
you  would  gain  a  brilliant  victory.  The 
fan,  not  being  in  the  know,  and  having 
seen  your  announcement  first,  would  pro- 
claim you  as  the  originator.  And  his 
respect  for  you  would  naturally  have  a 
tendency  to  increase. 

So  if  you  notice  a  fellow-trader  using 
a   stock   slide   which    takes   your    fancy, 

186 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

don't  go  and  do  likewise.  Select  some- 
thing different.  Thus,  you  see,  you  can 
make  your  slide  advertisements  distinc- 
tive without  incurring  any  additional 
expense. 


isr 


XXXII. 

THE  PERSONAL  ELEMENT  IN  SLmE 
ADVERTISING 

The  versatility  of  the  stock  slide  ends 
just  where  it  is  essential  to  present  the 
intimate  appeal  which  counts  for  so 
much. 

What  is  that  elusive  something,  the 
personal  touch?  To  my  mind,  it  is  by 
introducing  yourself  to  your  prospects. 
Now,  stock  slides  can  and  do  emphasize 
the  reasons  why  folks  should  patronize 
your  store,  but  as  I  take  it  for  granted 
that  you  desire  to  further  convince  them, 
you  have  got  to  "shake  hands,"  in  a 
figurative  sense. 

Where  is  your  store  located?  True 
enough,  you  will  not  neglect  to  include 
the  address  on  the  stock  slide,  but  first 
impressions  are  lasting.     It  is  my  inten- 

188 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

tion  to  advocate  the  adoption  of  what  I 
may  term  the  photo-slide,  for  want  of  a 
better  name. 

On  your  visits  to  the  local  motion- 
picture  theater  you  will  have  noticed  that 
the  exhibitor  is  prone  to  using  announce- 
ment slides  of  forthcoming  photoplays. 
On  this  kind  of  slide  an  important  scene 
is  reproduced  from  the  picture  and  tinted 
in  natural  colors,  while  the  blank  space 
is  used  to  good  advantage  with  brief 
description  of  the  film. 

These  are  stock  slides,  of  course,  but 
if  you  wish  to  plan  an  advertising  cam- 
paign along  similar  lines,  it  is  up  to  you 
to  have  some  photo-slides  specially  de- 
signed to  conform  with  your  individual 
requirements. 

The  best  way  by  which  to  present  the 
personal  appeal  is  by  having  a  photo- 
graph taken  of  the  exterior  of  your  store. 
You  can  then  forward  same  to  a  repu- 
table slide  manufacturer,  who  will  make 

189 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

a  slide  out  of  it  in  natural  colors  and  add 
the  desired  description. 

The  slide  should  have  two  marked 
effects  upon  spectators.  Firstly,  visualize 
for  them  exactly  where  your  establish- 
ment is  situated,  so  that  they  may  be 
able  to  recognize  it  on  sight,  and,  sec- 
ondly, it  will  leave  a  favorable  impres- 
sion. 


190 


XXXIII. 
ARE  YOUR  SLroES  TRUTHFUL? 

A  new  thing  is  liable  to  be  contami- 
nated with  the  faults  of  its  elders,  but 
this  can  not  be  said  of  motion-picture 
slide  advertising,  which  has  been  kept 
remarkably  clean  and  truthful. 

It  is  to  the  credit  of  the  slide  manu- 
facturers that  they  have  never  accepted 
any  dirt-money.  In  other  words,  they 
have  refused  to  make  slides  for  loan 
sharks,  whisky  manufacturers,  under- 
takers and  such  like  undesirable  adver- 
tisers. 

Even  had  this  type  of  advertiser  got 
his  slides  made  by  hook  or  crook,  he 
would  yet  have  to  pass  another  barrier, 
who  had  no  desire  to  present  obnoxious 
announcements  before  his  patrons. 

Another  thing,  slide  advertising  has 

191 


Advertising   by    Motion    Pictures 

Steered  clear  of  exaggeration.  I  am  not 
absolutely  sure  whether  It  is  due  to  the 
indirect  appeal  or  not,  but  I  do  know 
that  the  announcements,  for  the  greater 
part,  have  maintained  a  high  standard 
of  truthfulness. 

Here,  again,  the  influence  may  be 
directly  traced  to  the  slide  manufacturer, 
who,  when  preparing  a  stock  slide  for  a 
jeweler,  for  instance,  has  to  make  it 
apply  equally  well  to  jewelers  through- 
out the  country. 

Occasionally,  however,  he  slips  a  cog, 
but  this  is  not  altogether  his  fault;  the 
dealer  himself  is  partly  to  blame  for  pur- 
chasing a  slide  which  misrepresents  his 
business.  It  may,  on  the  other  hand,  just 
fit  in  with  the  individual  needs  of  his 
competitor  a  few  blocks  up  the  street. 

Photoplay  audiences  should  not  be 
disillusioned;  the  screen  must  be  kept 
free  from  abuses,  for  once  spectators  dis- 
cover that  advertisers  are  in  the  habit  of 

192 


Advertising   by    Motion    Pictures 

misrepresenting  the  facts,  they  will  evince 
less  interest  in  slide  announcements. 

Therefore,  when  purchasing  a  stock 
slide,  let  the  deciding  factor  be:  "Does 
it  apply  truthfully  to  my  own  store?"  If 
the  answer  is  in  the  affirmative,  your 
slide  will  not  strike  a  false  note. 


13  193 


XXXIV. 

OBTAINING  THE  BEST  RESULTS  FROM 
SLIDE   ADVERTISING 

Not  even  the  most  successful  business 
man  makes  good  in  every  enterprise  he 
undertakes.  That  is  an  impossibility, 
especially  in  these  competitive  times,  but, 
if  certain  rules  are  observed,  success  can 
be  achieved  in  the  majority  of  cases. 

The  photoplay  theater  is  a  compari- 
tively  new  advertising  medium.  You 
may  have  tried  it  out  and  failed,  while 
your  competitor,  for  some  reason  you 
are  unable  to  fathom,  has  won  out.  The 
mistake  too  often  made  is  to  treat  the 
motion-picture  show  as  a  new  thing — a 
kind  of  scientific  toy — ^but  as  a  popular 
form  of  amusement  it  has  long  discarded 
its  long  pants.  The  photoplay,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  has  settled  down  to  enjoy  a 

194 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

long  and  flourishing  career,  with  strict 
adherence  to  business  principles. 

You  do  not  find  the  modern  exhibitor 
housed  in  a  converted  store,  where  he 
presents  the  crudest  of  films  under  the 
most  vile  conditions.  He  would  soon 
find  himself  a  bankrupt  if  he  continued 
these  pioneer-day  methods. 

Maybe  you  have  developed  a  similar 
misunderstanding,  so  it  is  well  that  we 
have  a  heart-to-heart  talk. 

It  is  a  serious  mistake  to  have  a  slide 
thrown  upon  the  screen  of  the  least  desir- 
able theater  in  your  neighborhood.  You 
make  matters  a  thousand  times  worse  if 
you  allow  it  to  be  shown  at  every  per- 
formance for  months,  until  it  gets 
cracked,  dirty  and  faded,  all  in  turn. 

To  begin  with,  the  folks  whom  you 
are  addressing  must  be  carefully  con- 
sidered. They  step  inside  the  photoplay 
theater  to  be  entertained  with  attractive 
films,  though  this  is  not  to  say  that  ad- 

196 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

vertising  in  connection  with  same  is 
entirely  out  of  place.  Some  theaters  run 
a  performance  thrdugh  without  a  stop, 
while  others,  mostly  the  nickeldromes, 
introduce  an  intermission  during  the 
change  of  each  reel. 

The  former  shows  are  continuous  like 
the  latter,  so  that  the  one  intermission  is 
not  intended  to  clear  the  house  to  make 
room  for  another  audience.  In  reality, 
it  is  to  give  the  orchestra  a  rest  and 
allow  time  for  other  things,  not  the  least 
important  of  which  is  the  projecting  of  a 
batch  of  slides.  Some  of  these  relate  to 
forthcoming  attractions  of  the  theater, 
and  the  remainder  comprise  advertise- 
ments for  live  local  traders. 

Audiences  appreciate  these  slides 
when  they  do  not  number  too  many,  as 
they  are  the  means  of  affording  them 
-something  to  turn  their  attention  to  in- 
stead of  having  nothing  to  do  but  idly 
gaze  around  the  hall. 

196 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

Motion  pictures  appeal  to  the  eyes, 
consequently  spectators  pay  much  more 
attention  to  sHdes  which  contain  clever 
illustrations,  preferably  humorous,  backed 
up  with  apt  sentences. 

On  the  market  are  stock  slides  from 
thirty-five  cents  and  up.  Space  is  left 
for  your  name  and  address,  and  most 
of  the  needs  of  your  trade  are  taken  care 
of.  New  designs  are  constantly  being 
put  out,  which  make  it  possible  to  change 
slides  as  often  as  once  weekly.  We  all 
grow  tired  of  seeing  the  same  thing  over 
too  many  times,  so  if  you  fail  to  intro- 
duce fresh  pictorial  announcements  you 
are  liable  to  lose  the  respect  of  spec- 
tators. Once  a  week  is  an  ideal  interval, 
but  in  no  case  should  it  exceed  a  month. 

There  are  really  no  standard  rates 
for  slide  advertising.  Each  exhibitor  has 
his  own  ideas  in  regard  to  the  value  of 
the  location  and  size  of  his  theater. 

The    one    great    pull    the    photoplay 

197 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

theater  has  over  other  pubUcity  mediums 
is  that  you  obtain  one  hundred  per  cent. 
of  attention,  for  folks,  in  the  darkened 
hall,  must  concentrate  upon  the  screen. 


108 


XXXV. 

SELECTING  THE  THEATER  FOR  YOUR 
AD.   SLIDE 

The  other  half  of  the  battle  of  slide 
advertising  is  selecting  the  most  suitable 
theater.  If  you  are  situated  in  a  resi- 
dential section,  and  you  decide  upon  a 
downtown  theater  for  your  announce- 
ment, you  are  paying  for  scattered  circu- 
lation. 

The  exhibitor  also  rates  the  adver- 
tising value  of  his  house  at  a  much 
higher  figure,  and,  as  you  draw  the  bulk 
of  your  trade  from  the  surrounding 
blocks,  it  is  advisable  to  pick  out  a  local 
photoplay  theater. 

Motion-picture  theaters  may  be 
grouped  into  two  divisions.  One  is  the 
nickeldrome  which  has  been  converted 
from  an  empty  store,  and  seldom  accom- 

199 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

panics  more  than  five  hundred.  It  usually 
shows  the  oldest  films  and  caters  for  a 
cheap  patronage.  This  class  of  show  is 
on  the  decline. 

Although  the  motion-picture  theater 
is  a  democratic  institution,  the  well-to-do 
working  classes  prefer  to  patronize  the 
classy  building  which  has  been  exclusive- 
ly erected  for  motion-picture  entertain- 
ments. It  is  not  because  they  refuse  to 
associate  with  their  poor  brothers  and 
sisters;  quality  is  the  deciding  factor. 
For  five  or  ten  cents  more  they  see  a 
longer  and  better  program,  amid  more 
comfortable  surroundings. 

So  far,  so  good;  the  rest  depends  on 
the  managerial  policy.  The  best  way  to 
discover  this  is  to  visit  a  desirable  theater 
as  an  ordinary  patron.  If  you  note  your 
trade  is  already  represented  on  the 
screen,  then  the  theater  is  unavailable 
for  the  time  being. 

This  may  strike  you  as  peculiar,  since 

200 


Advertising   by    Motion    Pictures 

no  newspaper  grants  a  monopoly  in  one 
particular  trade,  but  it  is  the  custom  in 
slide  advertising.  The  healthiness  of  a 
newspaper  may  be  judged  by  the  volume 
of  advertising  it  carries,  but,  in  so  far  as 
the  photoplay  is  concerned,  the  fewer  the 
slides  the  better.  Time  is  precious,  and, 
if  the  exhibitor  is  to  give  each  adverti- 
ser the  service  he  pays  for,  he  can  only 
do  so  when  the  slides  do  not  exceed  one 
dozen.  When  the  number  is  more,  the 
operator  usually  whips  each  off  before 
spectators  are  able  to  read  it. 

After  you  have  satisfied  yourself  on 
all  these  things,  you  can  take  the  matter 
up  with  the  exhibitor.  You  may  frown 
upon  a  six  months*  contract,  but  the 
rental,  which  will  vary  from  $5  to  $10 
per  month,  according  to  size  and  location 
of  theater,  will  work  out  more  cheaply 
than  on  the  weekly  basis.  It  will  also 
afford  you  protection  in  that  your  com- 
petitor can  not  put  one  oven     Another 

201 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

thing,  the  public  may  only  give  your 
first  slides  the  once  over,  but  the  constant 
seeing  of  your  name  will  go  right  home. 
The  slide  manufacturers  find  that 
there  is  so  much  correspondence  involved 
in  executing  orders  of  less  than  one 
dollar  that  they  prefer  they  be  given  to 
the  exhibitor,  who  orders  slides  in 
quantities. 


202 


XXXVI. 

HANDLING   THE   ANTI-AD.  SLIDE 
EXHIBITOR 

Have  you  ever  had  legitimate  adver- 
tising turned  down  by  a  newspaper?  I 
don't  suppose  this  rare  experience  has 
fallen  to  your  lot,  so  it  is  perhaps  as 
well  if  I  acquaint  you  with  the  conditions 
that  exist  in  the  motion-picture  theater 
advertising  field. 

The  motion  picture  has  not  reached 
maturity,  and  consequently  some  branches 
of  the  industry  are  not  so  far  advanced 
as  others.  In  the  former  category  comes 
slide  advertising. 

There  are  some  exhibitors  who  throw 
up  their  hands  at  the  very  mention  of 
slide  advertising,  yet  the  strange  part 
about  it  is  that  they  themselves  can  not 
get  along  without  this  excellent  form  of 

203 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

publicity.  They  run  a  bunch  of  slides  on 
the  screen  pertaining  to  current  attrac- 
tions and  house  announcements.  These 
occupy  the  screen  for  five  minutes  or 
more,  and  are  repeated  at  every  per- 
formance for  fully  one  week. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  advertise  pro- 
ductions so  far  in  advance,  and  this 
would  allow  "foreign"  advertising  to 
have  a  look  in,  but  this  type  of  exhibitor 
generally  refuses  to  listen  to  reason. 
And  the  worse  still  is  the  fact  that  he 
knows  he  has  the  upper  hand  of  you. 

Let  me  assume  that  you  are  located 
in  a  neighborhood  section,  which  is 
catered  for  by  one  photoplay  theater. 
There  may  be  another  in  the  next  sec- 
tion, but,  however  desirable  this  theater, 
it  will  not  produce  so  much  business,  for 
it  is  a  trait  of  Americans  not  to  walk 
further  than  is  necessary. 

If  the  exhibitor  on  your  block  favors 
slide  advertising,  the  rest  is  easy,  but  if 

204 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

he  is  opposed  to  it,  it  is  up  to  you  to 
assume  a  resourceful  attitude. 

The  chances  are  that  this  exhibitor 
issues  a  house  organ  of  some  sort,  for 
which  he  is  prepared  to  accept  adverti- 
sing from  desirable  local  stores.  Here, 
then,  is  your  opportunity.  If  you  have 
ever  glanced  over  a  slide  catalogue,  you 
will  agree  with  me  that  slides,  when 
reproduced  in  black  and  white,  make 
dandy  press  advertisements. 

Many  dealers  who  believe  in  attrac- 
tive slide  announcements  undo  all  their 
good  work  by  following  same  up  by 
stereotyped  ads.  in  the  theater  house 
organ.  It  is,  of  course,  a  great  advan- 
tage to  have  the  former  already  prepared 
by  expert  advertising  men,  so  the  stock 
slide  in  the  latter  capacity  would  seem 
to  leave  little  to  be  desired. 

Contract  for,  say,  three  inches  of 
space  weekly,  with  weekly  change  of 
copy,  for  which  purpose  a  suitable  stock 

205 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

slide  should  be  selected.  Your  slide 
manufacturer  will  willingly  grant  you 
permission  to  have  cuts  made  of  his 
slides  and  reproduce  them,  if  you  give 
him  the  credit.  Your  ad.  will  stand 
out  prominently  from  the  rest,  and  read- 
ers will  admire  its  all-round  excellence. 
The  question  now  arises  as  to  what 
use  you  are  to  make  of  the  slide.  If 
there  is  another  theater  within  easy  walk- 
ing distance,  it  would  do  no  harm  to 
arrange  for  a  weekly  change  of  slides. 
Between  the  two,  you  should  hit  the 
mark. 


206 


XXXVII. 

HAVING  YOUR  MOVIE  AD.  SLIDES 
SHOWN   TO   THE   BEST   ADVANTAGE 

Watching  motion-picture  screens  is 
my  hobby,  and,  incidentally,  my  business. 
Four  times  a  week  do  I  combine  busi- 
ness with  pleasure,  and  it  is  these  on-the- 
spot  investigations  that  have  given  me 
good  grounds  for  asserting  that  the 
average  exhibitor  does  not  appreciate  the 
fact  that  there  is  an  art  in  showing  your 
slides  to  the  best  possible  advantage.  He 
seems  to  imagine  that  they  can  be  thrown 
in  any  slipshod  way,  so  long  as  he  can 
claim  to  have  shown  them  according  to 
arrangement. 

He  does  not  realize  that  he  is  under 
an  obligation  to  you,  represented  on  his 
theater  screen  by  paid  advertising.  Were 
the  local  paper  you  favor  to  print  your 

207 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

ad.  full  of  typographical  errors  and  badly 
blend  the  type  faces,  or  place  your  ad. 
in  the  most  inconspicuous  portion  of  the 
paper,  you  would,  naturally,  be  offended 
and  be  likely  to  transfer  your  advertising 
account  to  the  rival  publication.  This 
is  why  I  advise  you  and  your  friends  to 
frequent  the  theater  that  carries  your 
advertising  and  see  if  you  are  getting 
value  for  your  money. 

At  a  certain  motion-picture  theater 
in  Brooklyn  about  thirty  slides  are  shown 
at  the  end  of  every  performance.  You 
have  only  got  to  look  at  the  faces  of  the 
spectators  to  realize  the  resentment 
caused  by  the  bad  practice.  That  number 
of  slides  at  one  time  is  entirely  too  many. 
The  exhibitor  of  this  type  is  attempting 
to  cram  the  stuff  down  the  necks  of  his 
patrons,  whereas  he  should  accomplish  it 
in  an  unforced  manner.  The  latter  is 
easily  gotten  over  by  showing  only  sev- 
eral slides  at  the  end  of  each  reel.    They 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

are  thus  spread  out  and  have  a  far 
greater  chance  of  sinking  in,  because 
picture-play-goers  are  not  called  upon  to 
memorize  a  lot  at  one  gulp,  so  to  speak. 
In  this  way  the  patience  of  patrons  is  not 
overtaxed.  The  exhibitor  can  never  tell, 
when  he  puts  over  his  all-at-a-time  slide 
stunt,  whether  or  not  he  is  sending  spec- 
tators away  to  his  competitor  a  few  blocks 
up  the  street.  I  have  personally  known 
exhibitors  who  have  been  unable  to  ac- 
count for  the  falling  off  of  attendance, 
yet  the  whole  root  of  the  trouble  was 
the  slide  dodge. 

It  is  typically  American  to  shirk  tell- 
ing openly  anything  that  displeases,  so 
that  offended  patron  says  nothing  and  is 
never  seen  inside  the  theater  again.  This 
rebounds  on  you,  for  these  offended  folks 
become  your  mortal  enemy  and  lay  the 
blame  on  the  ads.  themselves. 

Even  at  those  halls  that  follow  the 
commendable  methods  outlined,  spectators 

14  209 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

often  see  the  entire  performance  through 
without  witnessing  all  the  slides.  The 
mistake  made  by  the  exhibitor  in  this 
case  is  to  project  one  of  his  own  slides 
first  to  tell  what  the  next  photoplay  will 
be.  This  serves  to  reveal  to  patrons  that 
they  have  seen  the  reels  over  once,  so 
they  rise  and  leave  the  show  right  then. 
Instead,  why  not  tell  your  exhibitor  to 
hold  back  this  condemning  slide  until 
the  last,  in  order  to  have  the  audience  sit 
out  the  others?  Besides,  the  one  advan 
tage  of  this  form  of  advertising  is  that 
there  is  no  competition  in  commanding 
attention  simultaneously.  Each  slide  is 
projected  separately,  and  it  is  advisable, 
if  only  for  the  reason  stated,  to  run  only 
a  few  at  a  time  instead  of  the  whole 
bunch. 

As  the  provider  of  this  extra  revenue 
for  the  movie  showman,  it  is  up  to  you  to 
see  adequate  treatment  for  your  invest- 
ment. 

210 


XXXVIII. 
THE  IDEAL  SLIDE  FOLLOW-UP  MEDIUM 

To  obtain  the  greatest  possible  results 
from  slide  advertising,  there  must  be  an 
effective  follow-up  scheme.  You  may- 
have  gotten  the  hunch  that  as  you  change 
your  slide  frequently  it  is  quite  sufficient. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  only  half  of  the 
battle  is  won,  for  the  slide  is  not  suffi- 
ciently elastic  to  perform  everything  de- 
manded of  it.  At  the  motion-picture 
theater  your  slide  is  probably  one  of  a 
dozen,  and  it  is  well-nigh  impossible  for 
a  spectator  to  retain  a  vivid  recollection 
of  them  all.  You  have  got  to  remind 
him,  and,  incidentally,  present  the  direct 
appeal.  That  means  your  advertisement 
being  presented  in  a  permanent  form.  It 
may  occur  to  you  at  first  to  use  the 
columns  of  the  best  local  newspaper,  and, 

211 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

while  this  has  its  good  points,  it  falls 
short  of  the  type  of  follow-up  medium 
needed  for  slide  publicity. 

A  newspaper,  as  a  rule,  covers  the 
town  like  a  blanket,  but  the  neighborhood 
photoplay  theater  draws  the  majority  of 
its  patrons  from  the  surrounding  blocks. 
So,  if  you  wish  to  obtain  100  per  cent, 
value  from  your  investment,  it  is  up  to 
you  to  employ  the  house  organ  gotten 
out  by  the  exhibitor.  This  publication 
gets  into  the  hands  of  all  patrons  of  the 
theater  regularly  every  week,  and  the 
fans  study  it  from  cover  to  cover  when 
they  reach  home. 

The  grave  mistake  some  dealers  make 
at  this  stage  is  to  forsake  the  slide  for 
the  house  organ.  It  may  be  an  econom- 
ical plan  on  the  surface,  but,  believe  me, 
it  is  penny  wise  and  pound  foolish  in  the 
long  run. 

The  slide  serves  to  get  acquainted 
with  your  prospects,  who  can  not  possibly 

212 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

ignore  it  in  the  darkened  hall,  so  you 
secure  their  attention,  while  the  printed 
page  might  escape  their  notice. 

I  have  frequently  remarked  upon  the 
attractiveness  of  the  stock  slide,  and  this 
time  I  am  going  to  contrast  it  with  the 
stereotyped  business  card. 

This  is  a  snappy  slide  recently  used 
by  a  Brooklyn  dyer  and  cleaner:  ''Don't 
Get  'Held  Up'  for  Inferior  Cleaning  and 
Pressing.  Try  Us  for  Expert  Work  at 
Fair  Prices."  In  the  left-hand  corner 
was  a  sketch  of  a  New  York  tough  point- 
ing his  revolver  at  a  terrified  meek  man. 

The  follow-up  advertisement  in  the 
theater  house  organ  was  as  follows: 
"Suits  Pressed,  25c.  Sponged  and 
Pressed,  35c.  Cleaned  and  Sponged,  50c. 
Dry  Cleaned,  $1.00.  Pants  Sponged  and 
Pressed,  10c.    Also  Ladies'  Work." 

It  was  as  easy  as  kiss  your  hand  to 
be  entertaining  in  the  first  instance,  be- 
cause the  slide  was  one  of  the  stock  kind. 
21  n 


Advertising  by   Motion    Pictures 

This  fact,  however,  does  not  excuse  the 
advertiser  from  putting  some  real 
thought  behind  his  announcements,  for, 
otherwise,  the  interest  of  the  reader 
fizzles  like  a  damp  firework. 


214 


XXXIX. 
ATTRACTING   FARMERS   TO   TOWN 

If  you  are  a  country  town  merchant, 
you  are  at  the  mercy  of  the  weather,  and 
trade  suffers  accordingly.  The  farmer  is 
a  good  customer,  and  you  must  offer 
some  inducement  if  he  is  to  be  persuaded 
to  make  his  customary  trip  to  town  when 
the  weather  is  bad. 

Practically  everybody  likes  motion 
pictures,  and  the  farmer  is  probably  as 
keen  a  fan  as  his  city  cousin,  only  circum- 
stances preventing  him  from  attending  so 
often. 

I  know  of  a  merchant  down  in  Harri- 
sonville,  Missouri,  who  got  wise  to  the 
fact  and  presented  his  farm  customers 
with  free  motion-picture  theater  tickets. 
He  now  finds  that  the  weather  makes  not 
a  particle  of  difference. 

215 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

How,  then,  can  you  make  certain  of 
doing  good  business  every  Saturday,  rain 
or  shine?  I  would  suggest  that  you  try 
out  the  self -same  stunt. 

In  the  first  place,  the  local  motion-pic- 
ture exhibitor,  being  a  business  man,  is 
always  on  the  warpath  for  opportunities 
for  increasing  his  patronage,  so,  if  you 
approached  him  on  the  subject  of  selling 
admission  tickets  at  a  reduced  price,  he 
would  undoubtedly  come  to  terms  with 
you. 

It  might  be  well  that  you  ask  him  to 
put  on  mostly  rural  pictures.  This  may 
seem  like  carrying  coal  to  Newcastle,  but 
it  has  been  proven  that  rural  folks  much 
prefer  farming  subjects. 

This  settled,  mail  two  complimentary 
tickets,  with  a  letter  about  the  character 
of  the  program,  to  your  farmer  customers 
sufficiently  in  advance  to  be  used,  and 
mark  them  good  for  only  the  Saturday 
matinees. 

216 


XL 

CAPITALIZING  POPULAR  SCREEN  PLAY- 
ERS   IN   SLIDE   ADVERTISING 

The  national  advertiser  often  links  up 
his  products  with  that  of  a  popular  photo- 
player  by  christening  a  branded  article 
after  the  actor.  Failing  this,  he  secures 
a  testimonial,  for  which  privilege  he  pays 
handsomely.  The  reason  is  obvious,  for 
the  stars  are  worshiped  by  countless 
thousands  all  over  the  country,  in  small- 
est village  and  largest  city,  and,  natu- 
rally, the  use  of  a  name  means  a  big  boost 
for  the  article  advertised.  You  see,  the 
fans  do  not  see  their  idols  in  the  flesh, 
which  causes  them  to  evince  unusual 
interest  in  anything  to  which  the  player's 
name  is  attached. 

Perhaps  motion-picture  audiences 
have  been  spoilt  through  the  ever-chang- 

217 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

ing  flow  of  new  productions,  as  this 
demand  for  something  new  has  had  a 
marked  effect  upon  sHde  advertising.  The 
dealer  never  hesitates  to  try  out  some- 
thing original. 

The  value  of  an  article  linked  up  with 
a  photoplayer  increases  a  thousand-fold 
when  advertised  in  the  photoplay  theater, 
and  consequently  the  slide  on  which  men- 
tion is  made  of  a  screen  favorite  will 
attract  more  attention  than  the  slides 
you  are  at  present  using. 

I  am  not  going  to  suggest  that  you 
apply  to  the  fountain-head,  so  that  you 
may  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  nation- 
al advertiser.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  out 
of  the  question,  for  the  photoplayer,  un- 
like his  legitimate  brother,  does  not 
travel  from  town  to  town.  Now  and 
then,  it  is  true,  he  does  tour  certain 
motion-picture  theaters,  but  these  occa- 
sions are  not  sufficiently  frequent  for  you 
to  wait  for  one  to  occur  in  your  town. 

218 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

I  have  a  method  in  mind  which  will 
cost  you  nothing  additional  outside  of  the 
slide.  This  is  just  a  rough  draft  of  the 
wording : 

"We  Know  of  a  Girl  Who  Tried  to 
Manufacture  Dimples  Because  She  En- 
vied Lillian  Walker's. 

"As  Miss  Walker  is  Famous  for  Her 
Dimples,  so  Are  We  for  Our  Candy." 

At  the  side  of  the  slide  you  should 
have  your  slide  manufacturer  reproduce 
a  photograph  of  this  popular  Vitagraph 
player. 

This  item  about  Miss  Walker,  you 
will  note,  implies  no  recommendation 
from  her,  so  the  same  can  not  possibly 
be  misconstrued.  Here  follows  the  orig- 
inal paragraph,  as  submitted  by  Lillian 
Walker's  press  agent:  "Don't  you  dare 
attempt  to  manufacture  dimples;  they 
are  a  monopolized  product,  and  Lillian 
Walker  has  the  motion-picture  field  all  to 
herself.    The  other  day  the  popular  Vita- 

219 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

graph  player  received  a  letter  from  a 
girl  admirer,  who,  desiring  a  beauty  dent 
on  each  cheek,  endured  great  pain,  but 
all  to  no  avail." 

The  press  agents  in  the  motion-pic- 
ture field  are  so  prolific  that  seldom  a 
week  goes  by  without  one  appearing 
which  may  be  adapted  to  your  business. 

If  you  adopt  the  photoplay er  slide,  it 
is  imperative  for  you  to  change  the  slide 
frequently,  not  only  because  spectators 
dislike  to  see  the  same  thing  over  again, 
but  because  each  fan  has  his  or  her 
favorite,  and  by  constantly  changing  the 
players  you  eventually  cover  them  all, 
and  thus  please  each  and  every  patron. 

If  your  local  newspaper  runs  a  mo- 
tion-picture department,  study  it  thor- 
oughly for  possible  material.  If  it  does 
not,  one  of  the  many  motion-picture 
publications  will  admirably  serve  the  pur- 
pose. As  the  items  are  news,  there  is  no 
copyright. 

220 


XLI. 

ATTRACTING  TRADE  WITH  PHOTOPLAY 
STARS 

Both  the  legitimate  and  vaudeville 
professions  have  their  followings,  but 
neither  can  even  slightly  approach  the 
huge  and  widespread  popularity  enjoyed 
by  the  motion  picture.  A  conservative 
estimate  places  the  number  of  fans  in 
this  country  at  twenty  millions,  which 
number  support  the  twenty  thousand 
photoplay  theaters. 

The  personal  element  counts  big  in 
this  industry,  and  the  leading  photo- 
players  come  foremost  in  the  affections 
of  the  fans.  There  are  more  than  two 
hundred  well-known  motion-picture  play- 
ers appearing  before  the  camera  to-day, 
and  each  movie  patron  has  his  or  her 
favorite.      And   this   is   just   where   the 

221 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

enterprising  storekeeper  can  pounce  upon 
this  opportunity  for  all  it  is  worth,  which 
is  a  good  deal. 

If  in  view  of  what  has  gone  before, 
you  are  still  skeptical  that  an  amusement 
can  not  be  mixed  with  publicity,  I  have 
only  to  cite  the  method  adopted  by  a 
trader  in  Los  Angeles.  He  gave  over 
his  window  display  to  photographs  of 
famous  film  players  and  arranged  them 
in  an  artistic  manner.  His  window  hap- 
pened to  face  the  sidewalk,  and  the  pic- 
tures created  so  much  attention  that  the 
sidewalk  was  congested.  Two  policemen, 
to  cope  with  the  situation,  had  to  have 
the  crowd  line  up  and  only  allow  each 
spectator  three  minutes  in  which  to  view 
the  photographs.  All  day  long  the  line 
extended  over  a  block,  the  windows 
arousing  the  same  amount  of  interest 
during  the  subsequent  days  of  the  exhi- 
bition. 

It  might  hardly  be  a  sound  business 

222 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

policy  to  display  only  photographs  in 
your  store  window  to  the  total  exclusion 
of  your  ordinary  wares,  for  the  under- 
lying idea  to  get  passers-by  to  view  the 
goods  set  out  in  the  window  and  act  as 
a  sort  of  temptation  to  buy.  I  would 
therefore  propose  that  the  photographs 
be  mounted  on  boards  at  the  back  of  your 
window,  so  as  to  allow  the  window  to 
be  dressed  in  the  ordinary  way.  This 
should  achieve  the  desired  object  satis- 
factorily. 

You  will  find,  on  approaching  the 
motion-picture  producing  companies,  that 
they  will  only  be  too  willing  to  give  or 
loan  you  photographs  of  their  stock  play- 
ers. The  local  exhibitor  will  supply  their 
addresses. 

Another  dandy  plan,  if  you  are  in  the 
custom  of  offering  premiums,  is  to  pre- 
sent each  person  making  a  purchase  of 
a  certain  small  amount  with  a  post-card 
of   a  popular   screen   player.     You  can 

223 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

purchase  these  for  $3  per  thousand  and 
have  the  selection  you  prefer,  for  you 
will  naturally  require  more  of  Mary 
Pickford  and  Charles  Chaplin  than  play- 
ers of  lesser  renown. 

I  am  not  acquainted  with  any  instances 
where  retailers  have  adopted  the  pre- 
ceding plan,  but  if  same  can  bring  full 
houses  on  dull  nights  to  motion-picture 
theaters  that  distribute  such  pictures  to 
spectators,  then  it  is  a  positive  thing  that 
it  will  help  along  your  slack  days. 

Popularity  contests  are  all  in  the 
fashion  to-day,  and  it  is  possible  for 
every  town  to  arouse  the  patriotism  of 
the  fans  by  permitting  them  to  vote  for 
their  favorite  player,  presenting,  per- 
haps, the  one  heading  the  poll  with  a 
suitable  souvenir  on  behalf  of  the  town. 
This  stunt,  of  course,  must  be  worked 
in  co-operation  with  the  near-by  motion- 
picture  theater. 

It  can  be  arranged  that  each  patron 

224 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

on  entering  receives  a  voting  blank, 
v^hich  he  is  to  fill  up  and  return  to  the 
girl  in  the  pay-box.  The  exhibitor  should 
announce  on  a  slide  that  the  standing  of 
the  contestants  will  be  announced  each 
day  in  the  v^indow  of  your  store. 

You  will  secure,  for  practically  no 
expense  at  all,  plenty  of  publicity,  result- 
ing in  increased  business. 


15  225 


XLII. 

TAKING  ADVANTAGE  OF  ERRORS  IN 
PHOTOPLAYS 

Every  now  and  then  a  motion-picture 
producer  comes  a  cropper.  With  the 
speeded-up  production  methods  at  pres- 
ent prevailing,  he  can  seldom  give  ade- 
quate attention  to  the  little  things  that 
count.  It  matters  little  whether  the  play 
is  historical  or  modern — it  is  almost  cer- 
tain to  contain  at  least  one  error  of  some 
kind.  Now,  photoplay  fans  pride  them- 
selves upon  their  smartness  in  detecting 
these  silly  slips,  and  therefore  an  added 
stimulant  would  please  them  greatly. 

In  addition  to  your  ordinary  slide  at 
the  local  movie  theater,  why  not  have 
same  preceded  with  one  worded  some- 
what as  follows: 

"If  You  Find  a  Mistake  Pertaining  to 

226 


Advertising  by  Motion   Pictures 

the  Dry-goods  Business  in  a  Photoplay 
Screened  at  This  Theater,  We  Will  Pre- 
sent You  with  25  Cents'  Worth  of  Goods 
Free"? 

The  first  thing  is  to  determine  as  to 
what  constitutes  an  error.  In  one  photo- 
play a  daughter  ran  away  from  home  and 
returned  to  the  family  fold  five  years 
later  with  the  same  dress  on  her  back. 

Almost  as  bad  was  another  picture  in 
which  the  chief  character,  an  old  gar- 
dener, began  his  day's  work  with  an  old 
overall.  At  the  end  of  the  day  he  blos- 
somed forth  in  a  new  garment. 

Mistakes  are  quite  as  prevalent  in 
Western  dramas.  Imagine,  then,  as  I 
did,  seeing  an  Indian  girl  wearing  silk 
hosiery. 

There  are  much  worse  mistakes  in 
historical  films.  You  will  remember  that 
"Jane  Eyre,"  Charlotte  Bronte's  famous 
novel,  was  set  in  the  early  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  but  the  heroine  in  the 

227 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

photoplay  version  was  up  to  the  minute 
in  fashions. 

It  is  quite  likely  that  more  than  one 
spectator  will  detect  the  same  error,  in 
which  case  it  will  prove  too  costly  a 
stunt,  so  it  is  advisable  to  limit  same  to 
the  first  four  persons  who  report  the 
error.  As  the  average  motion-picture 
theater  changes  its  program  daily,  it  will 
be  hard  to  verify  the  mistakes,  which 
may  not  prove  to  be  such.  To  guard 
yourself  against  the  unscrupulous,  it  is 
well  for  you  or  somebody  you  can  trust 
to  see  each  program.  Failing  this,  stip- 
ulate that  spectators  report  the  error  to 
the  exhibitor  immediately  after  seeing  the 
picture. 

This  stunt,  besides  drawing  additional 
attention  to  your  regular  slide,  should 
result  in  permanent  customers.  More- 
over, those  folk  who  delve  beneath  the 
surface  will  realize  that  were  not  your 
^oods    satisfactory   you   would,    instead, 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

offer  a  quarter  in  cash.  Do  not  neglect 
to  have  the  names  and  addresses  of  the 
winners,  together  with  particulars  of 
their  errors,  screened,  for  it  will  assur- 
edly prove  an  incentive  to  the  unlucky 
ones. 


229 


XLIIL 

HOW  THE  BOOK  DEALER  CAN  TAKE 

ADVANTAGE  OF  THE  MOVIE 

ADAPTATION  MANIA 

The  saloon-keeper  may  attribute  de- 
creased business  to  the  versatile  motion 
picture,  but  to  the  average  book  dealer 
the  industry  can  be  most  beneficial. 

It  is  what  might  be  called  the  adapta- 
tion mania  from  which  both  publishers 
and  book  dealers  have  profited.  To  prove 
this,  you  have  only  to  take  into  account 
"Les  Miserables,"  which,  when  released 
at  the  picture  theaters,  created  an  enor- 
mous sale  of  cheap  reprints  of  the 
popular  book. 

This  has  been  followed  up  by  many 
other  adaptations  from  novels  and  stage 
plays,  and  in  every  case  it  has  meant 
extra  trade  for  the  book  dealer  who  has 

230 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

been  keen  enough  to  make  good  use  of 
the  opportunities  thus  presented.  Many 
movie  fans,  after  seeing  the  photoplay 
version  of  a  popular  book,  and  finding  it 
to  their  liking,  have  a  desire  for  reading 
the  story.  Instead  of  borrowing  the  book 
from  the  local  library,  they  prefer  to 
spend  up  to  a  quarter  on  a  cheap  edition 
— and  this  is  precisely  where  the  book 
trade  comes  in. 

Hardly  a  week  goes  by  without  some 
popular  book  or  play  has  been  produced 
in  motion-picture  form. 

There  are  apparently  few  book  deal- 
ers who  have  given  this  new  field  of  busi- 
ness activity  the  close  attention  it  de- 
mands. Some  have  been  content  to  wait 
until  the  demand  came — a  most  short- 
sighted policy  that  meant  customers  going 
elsewhere — whilst  others  have  sat  down 
and  let  the  exhibitor  reap  the  harvest. 

I  think  it  worth  while  for  every  book 
dealer   to   make    a    friend    of   the    local 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

motion-picture  showman.  The  benefit 
would  be  mutual.  The  exhibitor  could 
inform  the  book  dealer  well  in  advance 
whether  he  had  any  adaptations  booked, 
so  that  the  book  dealer  could  lay  in  a 
stock  to  meet  the  demand.  He  could 
also  announce  outside  his  store  that  the 
picture  was  being  shown  at  the  theater 
in  question,  whilst  all  could  obtain  the 
book  of  the  film  from  him. 

The  exhibitor  would  reciprocate  the 
publicity  thus  given  by  announcing  that 
the  book  was  obtainable  of  the  book 
dealer,  or  by  allowing  the  latter  to  dis- 
tribute circulars  to  the  audience. 

These  are  but  suggestions.  Other 
possible  schemes  may  be  devised  by  the 
wide-awake  book  dealer.  It  is,  however, 
well  to  know  that  here  is  a  source  of 
revenue  to  be  tapped. 


XLIV. 
SELLING  REAL  ESTATE  BY  THE  FILM 

The  real-estate  agent  operating  from 
a  distance  in  selling  vacant  lots  and 
houses  is  placed  at  a  considerable  disad- 
vantage. 

When  a  prospective  purchaser  comes 
along  the  chances  are  in  nine  cases  out 
of  ten  that  he  has  been  so  misled  by 
some  other  members  of  the  fraternity 
that  all  the  arguments  in  the  world  will 
not  convince  him  that  a  certain  piece  of 
property  on  your  books  is  just  the  very 
thing  he  is  seeking. 

When  you  invite  him  to  pay  an 
inspection,  he  will  probably  say:  "I'm  not 
going  on  a  wild-goose  chase,  so  I  want 
some  tangible  evidence  that  it  is  likely 
to  suit  me." 

The  unfortunate  thing  about  it  is  that 

233 


Advertising   by    Motion    Pictures 

the  innocent  have  to  pay  for  the  sins  of 
the  guilty,  and  the  only  effective  way 
you  can  convince  such  an  individual  is 
by  a  motion  picture. 

Then,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  the 
client  whose  time  is  limited  and  may  not 
be  able  to  make  the  trip  on  chance. 

The  motion  picture  is  next  to  the 
actual  thing,  for  it  shows  everything  as 
in  real  life  without  any  tendency  to  exag- 
gerate or  allow  false  claims  to  enter.  It 
can  not  be  thought,  however,  that  the 
deal  can  be  clinched  without  the  personal 
visit.  The  film  serves  to  pave  the  way 
for  this. 

This  is  not  mere  theory  conjured  up 
from  the  vision  of  an  armchair.  The 
credit  for  putting  the  plan  into  actual 
operation  is  due  to  Western  enterprise. 
I  refer  to  the  Newell  Murdoch  Company, 
who  own  the  San  Francisco  suburb  of 
Forest  Hill. 

Bearing     the     title     of     "A     Drive 

234 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

Through  Forest  Hill,"  the  film  opened  by 
showing  the  grand  stairway  at  the  main 
entrance,  with  the  tract  office  in  the 
offing.  Then  came  a  number  of  pano- 
ramic views,  introducing  the  spectator  to 
the  serpentine  turnpikes,  streets  and 
avenues.  Finished  houses  were  revealed, 
as  well  as  those  in  a  partial  stage  of 
construction.  A  tract  salesman  is  also 
shown  meeting  automobile  parties  of 
prospective  purchasers.  This  film  was 
presented  for  public  exhibition  in  the 
ordinary  way  at  twenty  of  the  downtown 
theaters,  where  it  created  much  interest 
and  ultimately  produced  some  more 
buyers. 

It  might  also  be  well  to  show  the 
interiors,  for  the  inside  of  a  house  is 
even  more  important  than  its  exterior 
aspects.  This  was  formerly  impossible, 
owing  to  the  adverse  photographic  condi- 
tions and  the  difficulty  and  expense  in 
installing     adequate     artificial     lighting 

235 


Advertising  by   Motion   Pictures 

equipment.  Lately,  however,  an  inven- 
tion has  rendered  it  both  possible  and 
practicable. 

Additional  interest  would  be  lent  to 
the  motion  picture  by  introducing  resi- 
dents in  typical  poses,  recreations,  and  so 
forth.  This  would  enable  the  prospec- 
tive resident  to  gain  some  idea  of  what 
his  neighbors  would  be  like.  Another 
convincing  touch  would  be  added  if  the 
transportation  facilities  could  be  intro- 
duced. 

Romance  figures  In  practically  every 
photoplay.  Of  all  the  themes,  domestic 
troubles  form  the  most  prolific  one  for 
the  scenario  writer.  It  stands  to  reason, 
therefore,  that  motion-picture  audiences 
would  better  appreciate  a  comedy.  There 
is  abundant  material  for  Introducing  the 
advertising  element,  such  as  a  newly  mar- 
ried couple  who  finds  paradise  on  your 
estate,  or  a  family  who  experiences  a 
great    difificulty    in    securing    the    right 

236 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

house,  and  yours  measures  up  highly  to 
their  exacting  wants.  These  are  but 
suggestions  to  indicate  just  what  Hnes 
you  should  pursue.  A  story  can  be  easily 
woven  around  your  estate,  introducing 
characteristic  scenes  in  a  perfectly  nat- 
ural manner. 

The  local  theaters  will  be  more  than 
glad  to  have  your  film,  if  it  conforms  to 
the  usual  run  of  photoplay  stories,  and 
you  may  get  them  to  show  it  for  nothing 
instead  of  for  a  fee. 

Maybe  you  would  not  care  to  go  to 
the  expense  and  trouble  of  fitting  up  a 
room  in  your  office  as  a  private  theater 
and  installing  special  motion-picture  ap- 
paratus, so  would  suggest  that  you  make 
arrangements  beforehand  with  the  near- 
est movie  exhibitor  for  the  hire  of  his 
hall  and  operator  when  not  engaged. 
You  can  then  show  your  dubious  prospect 
at  any  time  convenient  to  him. 


237 


XLV. 

ADVERTISING  YOUR  DEPARTMENT 
STORE  BY  MOTION  PICTURES 

Department  stores,  whether  large  or 
small,  in  search  of  new  ways  and  means 
of  attracting  the  public  in  face  of  com- 
petition, will  find  in  the  versatile  motion 
picture  a  publicity  medium  which  fully 
comes  up  to  their  requirements.  Having 
the  novelty  element,  it  is  bound  to  create 
unusual  attention,  resulting  ultimately  in 
increased  business. 

The  idea,  however,  is  not  new  to 
England,  for  the  well-known  London 
department  store  of  Sel fridge's,  owned 
by  the  American  of  that  name,  had  a 
one-reel  film  produced  some  time  ago. 
This  showed  how  customers  and  staff 
are  treated  by  the  firm,  dealing  with 
accidents    and    illness,    and   keeping   the 

238 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

employees  fit  by  physical-culture  drills 
on  the  roof  garden. 

The  picture,  besides  capturing  the 
fancy  of  the  public  at  a  cinematograph 
exposition  held  in  London,  was  also  put 
on  at  the  principal  theaters  throughout 
London  and  suburbs. 

To  acquaint  the  public  with  how  their 
welfare  is  studied  and  that  of  the  em- 
ployees is  just  the  very  thing  to  form 
the  basis  of  a  successful  film.  It  is,  on 
the  other  hand,  hardly  practicable  to 
extend  the  advertising  to  specific  bargain 
offers,  such  as  you  often  set  forth  in 
newspaper  announcements.  The  boiled- 
down  stories  of  every-day  life,  which  are 
so  frequently  seen  on  the  movie  screen 
and  are  so  popular  with  the  majority  of 
picture-play-goers,  offer  their  counter- 
part in  the  advertising  field,  so  depart- 
ment stores  would  be  wise  to  follow  the 
fashion. 

Such   a    photoplay   would    stir   more 

239 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

interest  than  an  ordinary  industrial,  and 
it  is  safe  to  say  that  your  points  would 
get  home  better.  Audiences  would  be 
delighted  in  recognizing  it  as  a  home 
product,  set  amid  familiar  scenes  in  the 
neighborhood.  It  might  also  be  advisable 
to  introduce  well-known  local  players  in 
the  cast. 

There  is  abundant  scope  for  a  trained 
scenario  writer  to  block  out  an  interesting 
story.  You  can  have,  for  instance,  Mrs. 
Brown,  all  tired  out  and  discontented 
after  a  tour  of  all  the  shops  except  yours. 
She  happens  to  meet  Mrs.  Smith,  her 
friend,  on  her  way  home.  Mrs.  Smith 
is  the  picture  of  content,  through  trading 
at  your  store,  and,  after  sympathizing 
with  Mrs.  Brown,  invites  her  to  try  your 
store.  She  takes  the  tip  and  is  too 
pleased  for  words. 

This  is  just  a  rough  outline  so  as  to 
give  you  an  idea  of  what  can  be  done. 

You  could  also  have  the  story  written 

240 


Advertising   by    Motion    Pictures 

Up  in  fiction  form  and  insert  it  in  the 
columns  of  the  newspaper  you  favor, 
announcing  at  the  bottom  where  and 
when  the  film  version  is  being  presented. 
The  exhibitors  of  the  theaters  in  ques- 
tion will  be  more  inclined  to  entertain 
your  proposition  and  accept  a  smaller  fee 
if  they  know  they  are  going  to  obtain 
some  additional  advertising. 

As  much  discretion  in  selecting 
motion-picture  theaters  must  be  used  as 
if  you  were  selecting  reliable  press  me- 
diums. You  will  find  that  the  downtown 
theaters  attract  the  workers  of  both 
sexes  in  the  lunch  hours,  and  in  the 
afternoons  the  audiences,  for  the  most 
part,  comprise  ladies  seeking  relaxation 
after  shopping  tours. 

But  out  in  the  suburbs  and  residential 
districts  business  men  and  their  wives  go 
to  the  shows  in  the  evening  after  supper 
to  drive  away  the  worries  and  irritations 
of  the  day. 

16  241 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

If  yours  is  a  high-class  store,  it  natu- 
rally will  not  do  to  have  your  film  shown 
at  a  nickeldrome  attracting  the  poorest 
of  the  working  classes.  I  would  especial- 
ly advise  you,  before  putting  your  motion 
picture  into  circulation,  to  make  a  tour 
of  the  photoplay  theaters  in  your  terri- 
tory. It  is  not  enough  to  judge  by  the 
outside  appearance — mingle  with  the 
audience — and  size  each  one  up  from  the 
point  of  view  of  your  proposition. 


242 


XLVI. 

HITCHING  MOTION  PICTURES  TO 
MUSICAL  ADVERTISING 

The  versatility  of  the  motion  picture 
is  not  confined  to  the  varied  entertain- 
ment offered.  Both  the  films  and  theaters 
can  be  linked  together  and  be  converted 
into  business  producers  for  the  musical 
trade. 

Should  I  be  accused  of  presenting 
mere  theories,  then  I  would  respectfully 
call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  what 
I  am  about  to  suggest  is  based  upon 
actual  successful  cases  of  the  movies 
being  employed  as  an  advertising 
medium. 

Some  time  back  the  Edison  Company 
started  to  issue  musical  selections  for 
motion-picture  orchestras,  so  that  their 
photoplays  could  be  played  to  as  appro- 

17  243 


Advertising   by    Motion    Pictures 

priately  as  possible.  When  one  realizes 
that  the  majority  of  the  shows  change 
their  program  every  day,  it  can  be  seen 
that  there  does  not  exist  much  time  be- 
forehand to  prepare  suitable  musical 
pieces.  It  may  scarcely  be  needed  to 
add  that  the  exhibitors  appreciate  this 
co-operation  on  the  part  of  the  film 
producer. 

This  example  has  since  been  followed 
by  the  Universal  Film  Company.  They 
devote  almost  a  whole  page  in  their  house 
organ  to  the  correct  music  to  accompany 
their  motion  pictures  with. 

The  field  is  a  good  one  for  plucking, 
for  there  are  twenty  thousand  motion- 
picture  theaters  from  Maine  to  Califor- 
nia, and  the  average  show  puts  on  six 
fresh  reels  every  day.  The  average  num- 
ber of  selections  for  each  reel  is  three, 
brought  about  by  the  quick-changing 
situations  presented. 

The  method  of  one  song  publisher  by 

244 


Advertising   by    Motion    Pictures 

which  to  popularize  his  wares  to  the  folks 
in  front  is  to  arrange  with  a  number  of 
neighborhood  theaters  to  take  on  a  sing- 
ing act  between  the  reels.  The  singer 
has  the  assistance  of  the  band,  and  the 
audience  is  encouraged  to  join  in  the 
swinging  chorus  by  a  slide  thrown  upon 
the  screen  containing  the  words.  At  the 
top  of  this  is  a  notice  stating  that  the  So 
and  So  Company  publishes  no  bad  songs. 

To  hark  back,  on  the  musical  page 
of  one  of  the  house  organs  is  a  notice  to 
the  effect  that  if  the  orchestra  leaders  do 
not  happen  to  possess  the  music,  they  can 
obtain  it  from  certain  concerns  in  New 
York,  Chicago,  Boston  and  Philadelphia. 

I  am  quite  in  the  dark  as  to  the  actual 
inside  arrangements  which  have  been 
come  to,  but  I  presume  that  this  is  a  sort 
of  co-operative  plan,  whereby,  in  return 
for  reviewing  the  company's  productions 
from  the  musical  point  of  view,  this 
publicity  is  provided  in  return. 

245 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

Inasmuch  as  only  two  of  the  thirty 
or  more  motion-picture  producers  are 
helping  the  exhibitor  in  this  manner,  it 
would  seem  that  there  exists  a  partic- 
ularly good  opportunity  to  endeavor  to 
coax  the  others  to  follow  suit. 

Movie  fans  are  mostly  home-loving 
folks,  and  are  at  all  times  on  the  warpath 
for  new  songs  to  play  at  home.  This  is 
proved  by  the  fact  that  it  is  nothing 
unusual  for  an  exhibitor  to  receive  an 
inquiry  from  a  patron  asking  for  par- 
ticulars of  a  certain  piece  of  music  that 
has  taken  his  or  her  fancy. 

Some  songs  lend  themselves  partic- 
ularly well  to  motion-picture  production, 
and  such  popular  ones  as  "If  s  a  Long, 
Long  Way  to  Tipperary"  and  "Home, 
Sweet  Home/*  have  already  been  filmed, 
thus  further  helping  to  popularize  them. 
The  ideal  song  as  a  photoplay  is  one 
which  offers  abundant  scope  for  action 
and  is  also  true  to  life.     Most  film  ver- 

246 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

sions  thus  far  have  been  prepared  after 
the  song  has  achieved  considerable  fame. 
If,  however,  the  publisher  is  to  reap  the 
full  benefit,  the  movie  picturization 
should  be  released  simultaneously  with 
the  publication  of  the  song. 


247 


XLVII. 

DEVELOPING  "HAVE  A  GARDEN"  MOVE- 
MENT WITH  PHOTOPLAY  THEATER 
HELP 

The  spring  and  summer  are  the  busy 
seasons  for  the  nurseryman  and  florist, 
for  the  thoughts  of  the  city  folk  fly  in 
the  direction  of  the  open  air.  The  gar- 
den being  the  first  haven  of  refuge,  the 
garden  ''outfitter,"  if  I  may  be  permitted 
to  coin  a  term,  benefits  financially. 

The  neighborhood  theater  is  best 
suited  to  your  purpose,  as  the  majority 
of  the  patrons  are  located  in  residential 
sections.  You  approach  them  in  the  right 
mood,  for  one  of  the  charms  of  the 
motion  picture,  as  you  are  doubtless 
aware,  is  the  natural  backgrounds.  Al- 
though a  fair  sprinkling  of  the  stories 
are  set  in  the  city,   there   are  a   goodly 

248 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

number  located  in  rural  communities, 
consequently  spectators  see  lovely  gar- 
dens, farms,  ranches,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  handiwork  of  nature  represented  by 
the  prairies  and  forests.  All  this  makes 
the  city  dweller  feel  as  though  he  would 
like  to  get  away  from  his  artificial  sur- 
roundings, so  he  unconsciously  thinks 
about  converting  his  back  and  front  lots 
into  gardens  and  have  his  window-sills 
filled  with  plants. 

He  may  have  just  gotten  to  that 
wavering  point  where  it  needs  an  incen- 
tive to  stir  him  to  action,  for  he  is  apt  to 
forget  his  cherished  hopes  when  plunged 
in  business  on  the  following  day. 

It  is  customary,  at  some  motion-pic- 
ture theaters,  to  present  premiums  on  a 
certain  night  each  week.  Each  patron  on 
entering  is  given  a  numbered  ticket,  and 
at  an  appointed  hour  about  four  numbers 
are  drawn,  the  lucky  ones  being  pre- 
sented with  a  useful  article.     The  exhib- 

249 


Advertising  by   Motion    Pictures 

itor,  in  most  instances,  has  neglected  to 
enlist  local  co-operation  and  has  pur- 
chased his  premiums  at  wholesale  price 
from  headquarters.  It  may  be  because  it 
is  hardly  profitable  to  local  traders,  since 
only  four  out  of  a  possible  thousand 
would  feel  kindly  disposed  toward  them. 

A  friend  of  mine  who  recently  re- 
turned from  a  tour  down  South  informs 
me  that  he  discovered  a  plan  in  his 
travels  which  has  overcome  this  apparent 
difficulty.  It  appears  that  each  lady  pay- 
ing for  admission  to  the  Columbus  Thea- 
ter at  Mount  Allen  on  a  certain  Wednes- 
day night  was  presented  with  a  ticket 
good  for  either  a  fify-cent  rosebush  or 
else  a  plum  or  peach  tree  at  the  local 
nurseryman's. 

Each  woman  duly  presented  herself  at 
the  nursery  and  was  permitted  to  select 
her  own  plant.  This  afforded  the  florist 
an  opportunity  to  introduce  many  others 
of  his  line,  and  there  were  very  few  who 

250 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

did  not  spend  from  $1  to  $10  with  him. 

The  only  criticism  I  have  to  offer  is 
that  the  proposition  might  have  been 
extended  to  the  men,  as  there  were  un- 
doubtedly married  men  in  the  audience, 
unaccompanied  by  their  wives,  as  well  as 
single  ones  who  would  care  to  take  up 
gardening  as  a  hobby. 

The  nurseryman  in  this  case  charged 
the  exhibitor  the  absolute  rock-bottom 
price  for  each  plant,  relying  upon  the 
extra  permanent  business  secured  to 
compensate  for  the  sacrifice  made. 


951 


XLVIII. 

NAMING  SODA-FOUNTAIN  CONCOCTIONS 
AFTER  MOVIES 

Druggists  should  not  be  backward  in 
availing  themselves  of  one  of  the  strong- 
est forces  of  modern  times — the  motion 
picture.  It  is  a  poor  town  that  does  not 
contain  a  photoplay  theater,  and  in  most 
towns  they  are  as  plentiful  as  druggists 
— one  on  every  few  blocks. 

The  proportion  of  motion-picture 
goers  in  this  country  is  one  to  every  five 
inhabitants,  and,  however  it  may  work 
out  in  your  town,  it  is  practically  certain 
that  the  majority  of  men,  women  and 
children  spend  their  evenings  at  the 
motion-picture  show.  After  they  have 
seen  the  performance  through,  they  are 
in  the  right  mood  to  pay  a  visit  to  a  soda 
fountain.  Do  you  make  any  inducements 
to  attract  their  patronage?     Maybe  you 

252 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

don't,  so  let  me  suggest  how  you  can 
accomplish  this. 

Why  not  introduce  a  Lillian  Walker 
sundae,  an  Edward  Earle  frappe  and  a 
Charlie  Chaplin  soda?  The  name  goes 
a  long  way,  but  if  you  can  make  the  con- 
coction distinctive  it  is  an  added  advan- 
tage. Lillian  Walker,  for  instance,  is 
famed  far  and  wide  for  her  dimples, 
which  are  not  without  their  publicity 
possibilities. 

Do  not  adhere  to  any  one  particular 
player  for  too  long  a  period,  for  each  fan 
has  his  or  her  favorite,  and  if  you  make, 
say,  a  daily  change,  you  eventually  cover 
them  all. 

Obviously,  the  most  effective  adver- 
tising medium  is  the  motion-picture  thea- 
ter. If  the  exhibitor  rents  out  his  screen 
to  retailers,  you  should  arrange  to  have  a 
slide  shown.  Failing  this,  an  advertise- 
ment In  the  house  organ  or  program 
should  produce  the  desired  results. 

253 


Advertising   by   Motion   Pictures 

In  regard  to  the  well-known  brands 
of  photoplays,  I  know  of  a  pharmacist  in 
Beatrice,  Nebraska,  who  invented  the 
Triangle  sundae.  This  comprised  a  mix- 
ture of  vanilla  and  dark  chocolate  ice- 
cream, over  which  was  placed  a  confec- 
tion triangle,  the  work  of  a  local  baker. 
On  the  top  of  this  were  three  cherries 
and  three  green  candied  plums.  This 
stunt  was  pulled  off  in  co-operation  with 
a  local  photoplay  exhibitor,  who  was  as 
satisfied  with  the  extra  business  secured 
as  was  the  druggist. 

Triangle  is  only  one  brand  of  popular 
photoplays  with  advertising  possibilities. 
Others  are  Paramount,  Red  Feather, 
Blue  Bird,  Metro,  World,  Mutual,  Uni- 
versal, Gold  Rooster,  Beauty,  Biograph, 
Kalem,  Vitagraph,  Edison,  Essanay, 
Selig,  Lubin  and  Thanhouser. 

It  may  be  argued  that  it  is  giving  the 
manufacturer  free  publicity,  but  it  does 
not  sell  him  any  more  prints,  for  the  ex- 

254 


Advertising   by   Motion    Pictures 

hibitor,  as  a  rule,  contracts  for  all  the 
productions  released  under  a  certain  ban- 
ner. You  would,  of  course,  benefit  the 
manufacturer  were  you  to  boost  brands 
indiscriminately,  but  the  success  of  the 
stunt  depends  on  securing  the  assistance 
of  the  local  exhibitor.  When  that  is 
secured,  you  only  christen  soda-fountain 
concoctions  after  the  brands  of  photo- 
plays to  be  seen  at  his  theater.  A  little 
extra  time  and  effort  in  devising  new 
soda-fountain  lines  will  be  well  repaid. 


255 


8000 

CANDLE 

POWER 

by  Gov't  Test 

(U.  S.  Coast 
Artillery  School) 


by 

The  Vitagraph 

Kalem 

Essanay 

Lubin 

Rolfe- Metro 

Fox 

Universal 

Thanhouser 
and  hundreds  of 
Other  M.  P.  Studies 


NEW 

PANCHROMA 
TWIN  ARC 

MODEL  C 

Used  by  leading  producers  all  over  the 
United  States  and  adopted  as  the  standard 
portable  lighting  unit  for  motion-pictore  work. 

Price,  $70 

Price  of  lamp,  complete,  with  collapsible 
reflector,  rheostat  and  carrying -case  contain- 
ing all,  and  separate  folding-stand,  $70. 


THE  new  Model  C  contains  a  number  of 
improvements,  which  our  experience 
of  the  past  year  indicate  to  be  of  additional 
convenience  to  the  operator.  The  rheostat 
is  now  mounted  on  the  lamp  instead  of 
being  placed  in  the  carrying  case  and  the 
whole  lamp  has  been  made  more  rigid  and 
solid.  A  special  oscillating  device,  fitted 
to  the  carbon-feed,  keeps  the  carbons 
always  in  accurate  contact.  8,000  c.  p. 
guaranteed  per  lamp. 

Total  weight  of  each   unit  less  than 
twenty  pounds,  exclusive  of  stand. 


WE  ARE   LIGHTING    EXPERTS 

FOR   ALL    PURPOSES    IN 

MOTION    PHOTOGRAPHY 

We  outfit  operators  for  studio,  transit,  com- 
mercial and  unusual  purposes. 
Rental   terms    on    request    at   headquarters. 
Lowest  Cost  per  Operating  Unit 

Allison  &  Hadaway  Corporation 

Photographic  Manufacturers  and  Importers 

235  Fifth  Avenue,  Dept.  D,  New  York 


The  New 

Model  H 
TOP  LIGHT 

•or  latest  offerlDi 


EVERYTHING-F0R-Y0UR-PLAYH0l)5E 


My  Specialty  is 

Motion  Picture  Publicity 

Is  there  a  photoplay  you  wish  written  around  your  goods? 
I  supply  the  plot,  technical  scenario,  or  both. 

How  about  boosting  your  picture  ?  It  will  pay  you  to  en- 
trust me  with  the  preparation  of  the  literature. 

Is  there  a  unique  publicity  stunt  you  have  in  mind  ?  Why 
not  enlist  my  aid? 

Are  you  using  regular  photoplays  ?  If  so,  I  can  furnish  a 
weekly  report  of  the  latest  productions. 

Is  there  a  problem  on  which  you  seek  advice  ?  Perhaps  I 
can  be  of  service  to  you. 

ERNEST  A.  DENCH,  326  Decatur  Street,  Brooklyn,  N.Y. 


AS  A  COMPANION  VOLUME.  BUY  "MAKING  THE  MOVIES' 
(MACMILLAN  CO.,  $1.25) 


m 


RETURN  TO  the  circulation  desk  ot  any 
University  ot  Calitornia  Library 
or  to  the 
NORTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 
BIdg.  400,  Richmond  Field  Station 
University  ot  Calitornia 
Richmond,  CA  94804-4698 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 

•  2-month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling 
(510)642-6753 

•  1-year  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing 
books  to  NRLF 

•  Renewals  and  recharges  may  be  made  4 
days  prior  to  due  date. 

DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


NOV  2  Q  mi 


P.riTUHNED 


JAN  0  7  1998 


^•^nta  Crn" 


HAY  "^  0  1999 


12,000(11/95) 


LD  21A-50TO-9  '58  University  of  California 

(6889sl0)476B  ""^         Berkeley 


r 


869655 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


G.  E.  Stechert  &  Go. 

Alfred  Hafner 

New  York 


